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ARCTIC 

EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES 

DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 

BEING DETAILED ACCOUNTS OF 

THE SEVERAL EXPEDITIONS TO THE NORTH SEAS, 

BOTH ENGLISH AND AMERICAN, CONDUCTED BY 
ROSS, PARRY, BACK, FRANKLIN, M'CLURE, DR. KANE, AND OTHERS, 

INCLUDING THE LONG AND FRUITLESS 

EFFORTS AND FAILURES 

IN 

SEARCH OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 

'i/ EDITED AND COMPLETED TO 1 85 5. 






SAMUEL M. S^IUCKER, A. M. 



AUTHOR OF " COURT AND REIGN OF CATHERINE II.," " NICHOLAS I.," " MEMORABLE 
SCENES IN FRENCH HISTORY," "HISTORY OF THE MORMONS," ETC. 



WITH A CONTINUATION TO THE YEAR 1886. 



By WM. L. ALLISON. 



>y '^h'Hil fl 



NEW YORK: ^»'^^2£^ 
WM. L. ALLISON, 
Nos. 93 Chambers and 75 Reade Streets, 

1886. 



/ 



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<^V 



Copyright, 1886, 

BY 

WM. L. ALLISON. 



r 



PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. 



In offering this account of Arctic explorations to the 
public in a new form, and with the narrative continued 
from 1857, where Dr. Smucker left off, down to the year 
1886, the pubHsher aims to present a history of discov- 
eries in the Ice Zones during the present century more 
complete and interesting to the general reader than any 
other that can be found in a single volume. Although 
the Hterature of Arctic adventure would form a library in 
itself, yet there is no other book which presents a con- 
tinuous narrative of the various expeditions, from the 
beginning of the nineteenth century to the present time ; 
and the voluminous works which have been published by 
the different explorers cover only detached periods and 
single expeditions, besides being drawn out to undue 
length by the personal experience or interests of the 
writers. It is beheved that this compendious narrative 
gives aU needful details, and omits no important dis- 
covery in the ice belts — while no individual adventurer 
or commander is exalted at the expense of his forerun- 
ners or compeers. 

The disasters which overtook so many explorers, es- 
pecially the parties of De Long and Greely, led to the 
abandonment of the International Signal Stations estab- 
lished in concert by most civilized nations, and no scientific 
circumpolar expeditions have been recently sent out. 
Except the projected journey of Col. Gilder announced 
in the last pages of this volume, the only efforts which 
have been made within the last two years, or which 
appear to be in contemplation, to add to our knowledge 
of the Arctic regions, are the following : 

Russia has observers stationed on the shores of the 
Arctic Ocean in Siberia — in the Lena Delta, along the 
Yana River, and in the New Siberian Islands where De 
Long's party landed on their way to starvation, cold and 
death. 

Denmark is still at work surveying her Greenland 
coasts ; while Civil Engineer Peary, of the United States 



iv publisher's preface. 

Navy, is preparing to penetrate the frozen wastes of 
Greenland, hitherto untrodden, far inland, by any ex- 
plorer except Nordenskiold's Lapps, who, in 1883, forced 
their way about 200 miles inland in the latitude of Disco, 
where they found the ice 6,000 feet above the sea, and 
still rising toward the east. It is thought that this ice 
mantle covers the whole interior of Greenland to a thick- 
ness of from 1,000 to 3,000 feet. Mr. Peary proposes to 
enter Greenland at the great Omenak fiord, and to travel 
east a Httle north of the route followed by Nordenskiold, 
until he reaches the head of Franz Josef fiord, on the 
east coast, where Petermann's Peak rises 11,000 feet 
above the ice-beleaguied sea. If he reaches this point, 
he may be able to determine the ice conditions of the 
island from the west to the east coasts. Lieutenant 
Holm, the Danish traveller, found on the east coast of 
Greenland a hitherto unknown tribe of Eskimos. Dr. 
Boas in 1883-'84, made several excursions along the coast 
and in the interior of Baffin Land, and he divides the 
Eskimos of that region into seven stems, which show 
considerable differences in dialect, rehgious customs, and 
habits. His map is the first that records the native 
names of hundreds of locahties, besides correcting many 
errors in previous charts. 

There are extensive regions in the Arctic that civilized 
men have never seen. Though the blight of perT)etual 
winter reigns there undisturbed except by shght ghmpses 
of summer, yet it is a wonderful Archipelago of Islands, 
Bays, Gulfs, Sounds, Inlets, Straits and Seas. There are 
extensive tracts and coast lines which are almost a blank 
on the map of North America. King W'iUiam Land is but 
little known ; Boothia, where the magnetic pole is sup- 
posed to be located, is only a name on an unfamihar 
chart ; and when the traveller has passed through the 
Gulf of Boothia past BeUot Strait into Regent Inlet and 
Lancaster Sound, and beyond it into North Devon, North 
Lincoln and Ellesmere Land, he will have entered an 
unknown region wliich, stretching northwest and west- 
ward to Arthur Land (discovered and named by Greely) 
wiU reward his daring with the meed of renown, if he 
shall succeed in its exploitation. Though no important 



publisher's peeface. 



additions may be made to our geographical or ethnologi- 
cal knowledge — yet an accurate map of that extensive 
coast and nest of islands, waters and ice-fields ; and a 
description of the natives, animals, grasses, or whatever 
other signs of life, animate or inanimate, that exist there, 
would be of manifest advantage to the world. The individ- 
ual explorers who volimtarily leave the haunts of civilized 
men to penetrate the inhospitable wilds and outskirts of 
the earth, wiU earn and receive greater honor than those 
who go at the beck of authority or under the auspices of 
any government. The renown of all great travellers has 
been achieved without the aid of National appropriations 
to defray their expenses, guard •their lives, and insui-e 
their safe return^ — while the greatest disasters have at- 
tended expeditions which have been fitted out with 
elaborate preparations by great Naval Powers. Col. Gilder, 
it may be, will stand a better chance of life if a^xjompanied 
only by the Eskimos of Hudson Bay, and Hving on the 
game resources of the country — and may thus reach a far- 
ther North — than if he were attended by well-manned, 
provisioned and armored ships. That a numerous party 
not inured to the rigors of the chmate, and requiring 
laborious exertions to supply them with food, is not fitted 
for Arctic explorations, has been proved by the whole 
history of adventures in that region. A few years since 
the natives made a successful overland joiuTiey of over 
3,000 miles, with Lieut. Schwatka and Col. Gilder, from 
Hudson Bay to King William Land, and back again 
without the loss of a Hfe. Another attempt may be 
crowned with still greater success, and enable this hardy 
explorer to pierce the very center of the Pole, and to 
write his name higher up on the scroll of fame than any 
of the illustrious navigators who have boldly gone into 
the Arctic night to die, or to suffer there and return. 

Since the XJ. S. Signal Station at Point Barrow, Alaska, 
was abandoned, by Act of Congress, the United States 
Government has done comparatively nothing to explore 
and develop our own Arctic territory of Alaska, so rich in 
fisheries, fm's, timbers and mines. But The Neiv York 
Times — following the notable example of The Herald, 
which sent Stanley to Africa in search of Livingston, 



vi publisher's preface. 

and gave to the United States the unfortunate Jeannette, 
in wljich DeLong vainly attempted to penetrate the 
Arctic Ocean by way of Bering's Straits — has recently 
dispatched (from Washington Territory), Lieut. Fred- 
erick ScHWATKA, and Prof, William Libbey, Jr., of 
Princeton College, N. J., to explore for that journal the 
St. Ehas Alps of Alaska. When they arrive at Sitka they 
will organize an expedition of white men and Indian 
guides, interpreters and laborers, and spend the rest of 
the Summer in endeavors to explore the interior and 
ascend Mount Elias. Attention wiU be directed to the 
native tribes of Alaska, from whom it is anticipated much 
information of interesi^ to ethnologists may be derived. 
The main object of the expedition, however, is geo- 
graphical exploration in the St. Ehas Alps, and the col- 
lection of such scientific and commercial information 
about the products and resomxes of Alaska as may be of 
value to the pubhc. 

W. L. A. 

New York, June 29, 1886. 




PREFACE. 



The records of maritime adventure and discovery con- 
stitute one of the most attractive pages in literature. 
Nearly three thousand years before the bii'th of Christ, 
the bold Tyrians and Phoenicians deserted the confines of 
theii' native continent to explore new realms, and to ob- 
tain from the then unknown land of Spain, the means of 
augmented splendor, luxury, and wealth. From that re- 
mote period, down through succeeding ages until the 
present, the most enterprising and dauntless of human 
spirits have found their congenial field of labor and ac- 
tivity in adventuring into untrodden and unfamiliar re 
gions in search of riches, celebrity, and conquest. 

It was this spirit which has in the past given birth to 
many great states and empires. It was this spirit which 
planted Carthage on the northern shores of Africa, and 
eventually rendered her the dangerous and not unworthy 
rival of Rome. It was this spirit which built Marseilles, 
Ai'les, Nismes, and many of the most important cities o^ 



IV PEEFACE. 

France, wMcli contain to this day impressive monuments 
of Roman origin and supremacy. It was this spii'it which 
made England pass successively under the resistless sway 
of her Roman, Saxon, Danish, and Norman conquerors. 
But more especially was it this restless and insatiable 
genius of adventure which created the greatness of the 
chief maritime cities of modern Italy, of Genoa and Ven- 
ice, as well as that of the kingdom of Portugal and Spam. 
To this same desu*e for discovery the world is indebted 
for the glorious achievements of Columbus, Vespucius, 
and De Soto ; and for the revelation of the magnificent 
novelties and imparalleled beauties of these western con- 
tinents, ladened with the most valuable treasures and 
products of the earth, which they threw open to the 
knowledge and the possession of mankind. 

After the discovery of the American continents, and af- 
ter the thorough exploration of the Southern and Pacific 
oceans, it was generally supposed that the materials for 
fiu'ther adventures of this description had all been ex- 
hausted. The whole habitable globe seemed then to 
have been made accessible and familiar to men, both as 
apostles of science and as emissaries of commerce. It 
was thought that the era of maritime discovery, the days 
of Vasco de Gama, of Marco Polo, and of Sydney, had 
ended forever. J^ut this supposition was erroneous. One 
additional field of this description yet remained. It was 
indeed a gloomy and repulsive one. It was totally de- 
void of the attractive and romantic splen dors which in 
other days had allured men to sail through tranquil 
oceans to fragrant islands, which bloomed like gardens on 
the bosom of summer seas ; or to continents which were 
covered with the richness of tropical vegetation and luxu 



7BEFA0E. V 

riance, and were stored with spices, gold, and gems. But 
it was a field which demanded greater heroism, greater 
endurance, and was fraught mth greater perils, than any 
other department of discovery. This region lay far up 
toward the Northern Pole. It was the vast frozen land 
of everlasting snow-fields, of stupendous ice-bergs, of 
hyperborean storms, of the long, cheerless nights of the 
Arctic Zone. To navigate and explore these dismal 
reahns, men of extreme daring, of sublime fortitude, of 
unconquerable perseverance, were absolutely necessary. 
And such men possessed one great element of distinguish- 
ing greatness, of which the explorers of more genial and 
inviting climes were destitute. Their investigations were 
made entirely without the prospect of rich reward, and 
chiefly for the promotion of the magnificent ends of 
science. The discovery of a north-western passage was 
indeed not fbrgotten ; but it must be conceded that other 
less mercenary and more philanthropic motives have 
given rise to the larger portion of the expeditions which, 
during the progress of the nineteenth century, have in- 
vaded the cheerless solitudes of that dangerous and re- 
pulsive portion of the globe. 

The following pages contain a narrative of the chief 
adventures and discoveries of Arctic explorers during 
this century. 'No expedition of any importance has been 
omitted ; and the work has been brought down in its de- 
tails to the present time, so as to include a satisfactory 
account of the labors, sufferings, and triumphs of that 
prince of Arctic explorers and philanthropists. Dr. Kane ; 
whose adventures, and whose able narrative of them, en- 
title him to fadeless celebrity, both as a hero in the field, 
and as a man of high genius and scholarship. 



Vl PREFACE. 

Every reader who carefully peruses the following pa* 
ges must be convinced that the Arctic hemisphere has 
now been thoroughly explored. Every accessible spot 
has been visited and examined by some one or other 
of the various expeditions wliich have been sent out ; and 
that vast extent of countries and of seas which intervene 
from Smith's Sound and Wolstenholme Sound in the ex- 
treme east, being the remotest northern limits of Green- 
land, to the westward as far as to Behring's Straits, which 
divide America from Asia, has been examined. These 
limits inclose an area of about four thousand miles, every 
attainable portion of which has been subjected to the 
scrutiuy of recent Arctic explorers. It can scarcely be ex- 
pected that any traces of the existence and fate of Sir John 
Franklin still remam on the globe, which further perse- 
verance and research could possibly reveal. Even if the 
groat chapter of Arctic discovery and adventure should 
now be closed, it will constitute one of the most remark- 
able and entertaining departments of human heroism, 
enterprise, and endurance, which biography or history 
presents. 



CONTENTS, 



Introductory Remarks, 35 

Little known of the Arctic Regions — Notice of Capt. Phipps' Voyage — Parry's ana 
Franklin's opinions on a northwest passage — Abstract of Sir John Barrow's works on 
Arctic Discovery — England's neglect of her nautical heroes. 

Captain &ir Jolin Ross's Voyage in the Isabella and Alexander tc 
Hudson's Bay in 1818 37 

Names of the officers and men — Ships visited by the natives of Greenland — Abim- 
dance of birds on this coast — Gale of wind — Red snow — Lancaster Sound — The bibu- 
lous Croker mountains — Agnes monument — Large bear shot — Return home. 

Voyage of Buchan and Franklin in the Dorothea and Trent, to 
Spitzbergen, &c., 1818, . . 45 

Names of officers and complement, &c. — Fanciful appearance of icebergs — Sliipa 
arrive at Spitsbergen — Anchor in Magdalen Bay — Hanging icebergs — Immense flocks 
of Tjirds — Dangerous ascent of Rotge Hill — Attack of walruses — Surprised by unlooked- 
for vMtors — Devout feeling of recluses — Expedition puts to sea again — Party lose 
themselves on the ice — Ships damaged by the pressure of the floes — Dangerous position 
of the ships — They take refuge in the main pack of icebergs — Vessels put into Fair 
ELaven to stop leaks and refit — Return home. 

Franklin's First Land Expedition, 1819-21 . . ' 61 

Party leave England in the Prince of Wales — Reach Hudson's Bay factory by tho 
end of August — Proceed by the rivers and lakes to Cumberland House — Arrive at Fort 
Chipewyan after a \\'inter journey of 857 miles — Engage voyageurs and guides — Make 
the acquaintance of Akaitcho, the Indian chief — Push on for Fort Enterprise, which 
is made their winter residence after a voyage of 563 miles — Exploruig excursions car- 
ried on during the winter — " Green Stockings," the Indian beauty — Stores and Esqui- 
maux interpreters arrive — Severity of the winter — Sufferings of the Indians — Party 
set out for the Polar Sea — Examine the coast westward of Point Turnagain — Dreadful 
hardships and sufferings endm-ed on their return journey, ft-om famine and fatigue — 
Death of several of the party — Mr. Hood is murdered by Michel the Iroquois, who, 
for their mutual safety, is killed by Dr. Richardson — Hunger and famine endured by 
the party— Their ultimate relief. 

Parry's First Voyage in the Hecla and Griper, 1819-20, 85 

Names of officers ser\-ing, &c. — Enter Lancaster Sound — The Croker mountains 
prove to be fallacious — Parry discovers and enters Regent Inlet — Also discovers and 
names various islands, capes, and channeLs — Reaches Mehdlle Island — Expedition cross 
the meridian of 110"^ W., and become entitled to the Parliamentary reward of jC5(MKt 
— Drop anchor for the first time — Land on the island — Abundance of animals found — 
An exploring party lose themselves for three days, but are recovered and brought 
back— Vessels get into winter-quarters — A MS. newspaper published — amateur playg 
performed — Observatory destroyed by fire — Scurvy makes its appearance — Crews put 
©n short allowance — An excursion of a fortnight made to examine tb^ island — Ships get 
•lear of the ice — ^But are unable to make further progress to the westward, and iheii 
tmivan to England is determined on. 




Viii CONTENTS. 

Parry 'h Second Voyage in the Fiiry and Hecla, 1821-23 101 

His opinion as to a northwest passage — Make Resolution island, at the entrance of 
Hudson's Strait'— Dangers o the ice — Fall in with Huilson' sBay Company's sliips, and 
emigrant vessel, with Dutch colonists proceeding to lied River — Two immense beara 
killed — Description of the Esquimaux — Surveys made of aU the indentations and coasta 
of this locality — Ships driven back by the current and drift-ice — Take up their winter- 
quarters — And resort to theatrical amusements again — Schools established — Great 
■everity of the winter — Surveying operations resumed — Intelligent Esquimaux female 
affords valuable hydrographical information — ^Perilous position of the Heola — Her 
miraculous release — Ships pass their second winter at Igloolik — The Fury and Hecli 
Strait examined — Ice breaks up — Ships driven about by the current for thirty-fiv* 
days — At last gain the Atlantic and make for England. 

Clavering's Voyage to Spitzbergen and Greenland in the Griper, 
1823 126 

Conveys out Capt. Sabine to make observations — Reach Spitzbergen — Proceed thenoe 
to Pendulum Islands — Northeastern coast of Greenland surveyed — Captain Clavering 
ftnd a party of nineteen men carry on an exploring expedition for a fortnight — Meet 
with a tribe of Esquimaux — Ship puts to sea — Make for the coast of Norway — Anchor 
in Drontheim Fiord — Observations being completed, ship returns to England. 

Lyon's Voyage in the Griper, 128 

Is gent to survey and examine the straits and shores of Arctic America — Arrives in 
the channel known as Roe's "Welcome — Encomiters a terrific gale — Is in imminent dan- 
ger in the Bay of God's Mercy — Suffers from another fearful storm — The ship being 
quite crippled, and having lost all her anchors, &c., is obliged to retxirn home. 

Parry's Third Voyage in the Hecla and Fury, 1824-25 130 

Names and number of the officers, &c. — Hecla laid on her broadside by the ice — 
Ships reach Lancaster Soimd — Enter Regent Inlet, and winter at Port Bowen — Dreary 
oharfi'ter of the arctic winter — Former amusements worn threadbare — Polar Bal 
Masqtjj got up — Exploring parties sent out inland and along the coast — Ships are 
releasee, but beset by the ice, and carried by the pack down the inlet — Fury driven on 
shore and abandoned — Return voyage necessarily determined on — Scarcity of animal 
food in this locality — ^Hecla arrives at Peterhead — Parry's opinions of the northwest 
passage. 

Franklin's Second Land Expedition, 1825-26 137 

Names of the officers accompanying him — Arrive in New York and proceed through 
the Hudson's Bay Company's territories — Winter at Fort Franklin on Greats Bear 
Lake — A pioneer party proceeds to examine the state of the Polar Sea — Return and 
pass the long winter — Descend the Mackenzie in the spring — Party divide ; Franltliii 
and Back proceeding to the westward, wliile Dr. Ricliardson and Mr. Kondal, &c., 
follow the Coppermine River — Franklin encounters a fierce tribe of Esquimaux at the 
sea — After a month's survey to the eastward, Franklin and his party retrace their steps 
— Find Richardson and Kendal had returnd before them, after reaching and explor- 
ing Dolphin and Union Strait — Another winter spent at Fort Franklin — Intensi^ of 
the cold — Large collection of objects of natural history made by Mr. Drummond— 
Franklin's struggle between affection and duty — Party return to England. 

Captain Beechey's Voyago to Behring's Strait in the Blossom, 
1825-26 140 

Anchors off Petropaulowski — Receives intelligence of Parry's .safe return — Interview 
with the natives — Correct hydrograplucal descriptions given by the Esquimaux — ■ 
Ship 8 boat pushes on to the eastward as far as Point Barrow, to comnmnicate vdth 
Franklin — Crew in danger from the natives— Obliged to return t(} their ships — The 
Blossom proceeds to the Pacific, to replenish her pro\isions — Returns to Kotzebue 
Sound in the summer — Ship grounds on a sand-bank, but is got off— Boat sent out to 
learn tidings of Franklin, is wrecked — Crew come into collision with liostile natives, 
and are wotmdcd ; picked up by the ship— Dispatches left for Franklin, and tlie sk n 
returns to England. 



CONTENTS. IX 

Parry's Fourth or Polar Voyage in the Hecla, 1827 144 

Plans and suggestions of Scoresby, Beaufby and Franklin for traveline^ in sledgea 
over the ice — Names of the officers employed — Ship embarks reindeer on the Norway 
coast — Experiences a tremendous gale — 'Beset by ice for a month — Anchors at Spitz- 
bergen — Sledge-boats prepared for the ice journey — Description of them — ^Night 
turned into day — Slow progress — Occupations of the party — Lose ground by the 
southward drift of the ice — Bear shot — Notices of animals seen — Reach northernmost 
known land — The islet named after Ross — Return to the ship — ^Parry's subsequent 
suggestions on this mode of traveling — Sir John Barrow's comments thereon — Opin- 
ions of this perilous ice journey — Review of Parry's arctic sendees. 

Captain John Ross's Second Voyage in tho Victory, 1829-33 155 

Ross seeks official employment from the Admiralty on another arctic voyage — is re- 
fused — Funds are furnished by Mr. Felix Booth — The Victory steamer purchased— 
Engages his nephew, Commander James Ross, as his second in command — List of 
other officers — Ship encounters a gale, and is obliged to put into Holsteinberg to refit 
— ^Proceed on their voyage — ^Enter Lancaster Sound and Regent Inlet — Reach Fury 
Beach — Find abundance of stores there, and preserved meat in excellent condition — 
Replenish their stock — Proceed down tixe Inlet — Perils of the ice — Vessel secured in 
Felix Harbor for the winter — Esquimaux visit the ship — Furnish very correct sketches 
of the coast — Commander James Ross makes many excursions inland and along the 
bays and inlets — Explores Ross's Strait, and pushes on to King William's Land — Diffi- 
culty of distinguishing land from sea — Reaches Point Victory and turns back — Ship 
gets clear of the ice, after eleven months' imprisonment, but in a week is again frozen 
in, and the party are detained during another severe winter — ^Further discoveries made, 
and Commander Ross plants the British flag on the north magnetic pole — ^In August, 
1831, the ship is warped out, an«l makes sai^ but after beating about for a month, is 
again frozen in ; and rather than spend a fourth winter, there being no prospect of 
releasing the sh^, she is abandoned, and the crew make for Fury Beach — Provisions 
and boats taken on with great labor — ^Party erect a canvas hut, which they name Som- 
erset House — ^In a month, the boats being prepared for the voyage, the party embark, 
and reach the mouth of the inlet — Barrow's Strait is found one compact mass of ice — 
They are obliged to fell back on the stores at Fury Beach to spend their fourth winter — 
Placed on short allowance — ^In the spring they again embark in their boats and succeed 
In reaching Lancaster Sound — ^Fall in with whalers — Are received on board the Isabella, 
Captain Ross's old ship — Arrive home — ^Public rejoicings for their safety — Rewardf 
panted — Resume of Captain John Ross's services. 

Captain Back's Land Journey in search of Ross, 1833-34 168 

Attention called to the missing expedition by Dr. Richardson — Flans of relief sag- 
rested — ^PubUc meeting held to consider the best measures — Ample funds raised — Capt 
Back volunteers — Leaves England with Dr. King — Voyageursand guides, &c, engaged 
bi Canada — Party push through the northwest country — Dreadful sufterings from 
bisect pests — Reach Fort Resolution, on Great Slave Lake — Motley description of the 
travelers and their encampment — Arrangements are completed, and the journey in 
search of the Great Fish River commenced — Frightful nature of the precipices, r»p- 
tds, falls, ravines, &c. — Meet with old acquaintances — Obliged to return to their winter 
quarters — Dreadfiil sufferings of the Indians — Famine and intense cold — ^Noble conduct 
of Akaitcho, the Indian chief— News received of Captain Ross's safe return to England 
— ^Franklin's faithful Esquimaux interpreter, Augustus, endeavoring to join Back, in 
fi-ozen to death — A fresh journey toward the sea is resolved on — Provisions for three 
months taken — Indian encampment — Green Stockings, the beauty — Interview with the 
chief, Akaitcho — Arduous and perilous progress toward the sea — Pilfering propensi- 
ties of the Indians — ^Meet with a large friendly tribe of Esquimaux — Reach the sea, 
and proceed along the coast to the eastward, unable to arrive at the Point Turnagain 
of Franklin — Privations of the party on their return journey — Difficulties encountered 
In re-ascending the river — Reach Fort Reliance after four months' absence — Pass the 
winter there — Captain Back arrives in England in September, after an absence •£ 
two years and a half— Dr. King follows him in the Hudsons Bay spring ships. 

Back's Voyage in the TeiTor up Hudson's Strait, 1 836 186 

Ship arrives at Salisbury Island — Proceeds up Frozen Strait — Is blocked up by tlie 
ce, and driven about powerless for mor# than six months — Cast on her beam end< 
tor three days— From the crippled state ot the ship and the insurmountable difficultie* 
?f the navigation, the return to England is determined on — Summary of Captafai 
Back's arctic services. , 



X CONTENTS. 

Messrs. Dease and Simpson's Discoveries on the coast of Arctic 
America, 1836-39... 187 

Descend the Mackenzie to the sea — Survey the western part of the shorei of North 
America from Return Reef to Cape Barrow — Discorer two new rivers, the Garry 
and Colville — After reaching Elson Bay, return to winter at Fort Confidence, on Great 
Bear Lake — Survey resumed in the ensvdng spring — Dangerous rapids on the Copper- 
mine river — Encamp at its mouth — Copper ore found here — Victoria Land discovered 
and 140 miles of new coast traced — Re-ascent of the -oppormine commenced — Boats 
abandoned, and the Barren grounds traversed on foot Spend another winter at Fort 
Confidence — The follovdng season a tliird voyage commenced — Richardson's River 
examined — Coronation Gulf found clear of ice — Coast survey to the eastward prose- 
cuted — Simpson's Strait discovered — Back's Estuary reached — Deposit of provisiong 
made by Back five years previous, found — Aberdeen Island, the extreme point reached 
— Parts of%oasts of Boothia and Victoria Land traced — One of the boats abandoned — 
Descent of the Coppermine, and safe arrival at Fort Confidence. 

Dr. John Rae's Land Expedition, 1846-47 192 

Hudson's Bay Company dispatch Rae and a party of thirteen men to complete the 
Burvey between Dease and Simpson's furthest, and the Fury and Hecla Strait — Expe- 
dition leaves Fort Churchill — Reaches Wager River — Boats taken across Rae's Isthmus 
—Winter residence constructed — Short commons — West shore of MelviUe Peninsula, 
&c., examined — Party return to their encampment, and proceed to Fort Churchill — 
Gratuity of £400 awarded to Dr. Rae. 

Captain Sir John Franklin's Last Expedition in the Erebus and 
Terror, 1845-51 196 

Probability of the safety of the expedition — Montgomery's lines on ice-imprisoned 
vessels — Lady Franklin's devotion and enthusiasm — Verses — Her appeal to the north — 
Sir E. Parry's opinion — Outfit and dispatch of Franklin's expedition — Names of the 
officers employed — Outline of Franklin's services — Notices of the ser\icea of other of 
the officers — Searching expeditions sent out in 1848 — Different volunteers offer — Al" 
Bence of iotelligence of Frankhn — His latest dispatches and letters — Copper cylinders 
—Franklin's views and intentions — Letters of Captain Fitzjames — General opinions of 
the most experienced arctic officers as to Pranldm's safety — Offer of services and sug- 
gestio"n8 by Dr. King — Opinions of Captains Parry and James Ross thereon — Consulta- 
tion of officers at the Admiralty — Report of the hydrographer — Advice tendered by 
those consulted — Views of Mr. Snow and Mr. McLean — Public and private rewards 
offered for discovery and assistance to be rendered — Second report of Admiral Beaufort 
to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty — Various private and official letters and 
dispatches, pointing out, or commenting on plans and modes of relief— Abundance of 
animal food found in the arctic regions — A ballad of Sir John Franklin. 

The Government and private Searching Expeditions 281 

List of the vessels and commanders, &c., now employed on the search in the arctio 
regions — Notices of those returned home. 

Voyage of the Eutei-prise and Investigator under Captains Sir J. C. 
Ross and E. J. Bird, 1848-49 281 

Names of the officers employed in this expedition — Ships arrive at TJppernavick— 
Proceed on tbeir voyage — Force a passage through tlie ice — Enter Barrow's Strait- 
After being driven about in the pack, take shelter for the winter in the harbor of Port 
Leopold — Surveying trips carried on down the uilet, and roinid the northern and 
western sbores of Bootbia — Foxes trapped and liberated with copper collars on — Fury 
open water— Beset by the loose pack, and the temperature falling, the whole body of 
Ice is formed into one solid mass, and tlie ships are drifted with the field into Baffin's 
3ay— The return to England determined on— Outline of Sir James Ross's arduous 
services in the polar regions. 

Voyage of the transport, North Star, 1849 2^)0 

Names of the officers of the ship- -Official dispatch from the Commander— Soip 



CONTENTS. XI 

beset in an ic«-A«ld in the northern paxt of Baffin's Bay— Drifted with it for sixty-two 
days— Winters in Wolstenholme Sound— Dearth of animals there— Ship gets clear of 
ice and makes for Tancaster Sound— The Lady Franklin and Felix are spoken with — 
Being prevented by Hie ice from reaching Port Bowen or Port NeUl, the provisions 
takeQ out by the North Star are landed at Navy Board Inlet — Speaks the Prince Albert 
—Receives dispatches for England— Returns home— Commander Saunders appointed 
to Malta Dock-yard. 

Second voyage of the Enterprise and Investigator under Captain 
Colliuson and Commander M'Clure, 1850 294 

Names of officers attached to the ships — Esquimaux interpreter appomted to the 
Enterprise — Vessels arrive at the Sandwich Islands— Expressed intentions of tho com- 
manders of the vessels — Ships reach Behring's Strait — Communicate with the Herald 
4nd Plover — Latest dispatches of Captain Colluison and Commander M'Clure — Position 
of their Ships. 

Voyage of the Plover, and Boat Expeditions under Commander 

Pullen, 1848-51 307 

Purport of instructions issued from the Admiralty — Ship arrives in Behrir.f^'^'s Strait 
-Discovers new land and islands to the north of the Strait — "Winters in Kotzebue 
Sound — Lieutenant Pullen and party proceed in boats along the coast to the Mackenzie 
River — No tidings gleaned of Franklin's ships — Letter from Lieut. Hooper — Latest offi- 
cial dispatch from Commander Pullen — His intentions — Sir John Richardson's ad' ice. 

Voyage of the Lady Franklin and Sophia, purchased goveniment 
ships, under the command of Mr. Ponny 312 

Nature of the instructions given — ^Prhiting Press supplied — Ships sail and reach 
Wolstenholme Soimd — Prevented by the ice fi-om examining Jones' Sound — Reach 
Wellington Channel, and are left there by the Prince Albert. 

Voyage of the Resolute and Assistance, under command of Captain 
Austin, with their steam tenders, Pioneer and Intrepid, 1850-51 — 313 

Ships purchased and are renamed by the government — Officers employed — iiistruc- 
fcions given to search Wellington Channel, and push on to MelviUe Island — Official 
dispatch from Captain Ommaney — MS. newspaper started on board the Assistance 
Extracts therefi'om. 

\ 

Voyage of Captain Sir John Ross in the Felix private schooner 
1850-51 319 

Is fitted out by the Hudson's Bay Company and private subscription — Arrives at 
Whalefish Islands, and overtakes the Advance and Resolute — 5*rcceeds in company — 
Esquimaux reports of the destruction of Frankhn's ships, and murder of the crew — 
Proved by investigation to be devoid of ft»undation — Letter of Sir John Ross to the 
Secretary of the Admiralty. 

American Government Searching Expedition in the United States 
ships Advance and Rescue, under the command of Lieutenant De 
Haven, 1850-51 325 

Lady Franldin's appeal to the American nation — Mr. Clayton's reply — Second letter 
of Lady Franklin to the President — Suggestions of Lieutenant S. Osborn, R. N. — De- 
bate in Congress — Resolutions agreed to — Munificence of Mr. H. Grinnell — Ships fitted 
out and dispatched — Names of officers employed — Dispatches from the commander- 
Remarkable Voyage of the private ship Prince Albert, under the 
command of Captain Foreyth, R. N., to Regent Inlet and back, 
1850 348 

Fitted out by Lady Franklin and by private subscription — Reasons for the expedition 
—Officers and crew — Discover traces of Franklin — FaU in witli otlier ships — Visits 
Regent Inlet — Is forced to return home — Remarks on this % oyage 



X.ii CONTENTS. 

The American Grinnell Expedition in search of Sir John Frank- 
lin, in the Advance and Rescue, under the command of Lieu- 
tenant E. De Haven, in the years 1850-51 361 

Officers of the Expedition— Progress of the voyage— First encounter with an ice- 
berg — Acras of broken ice — Landing at Whale Island — Procure winter clothing and 
Bupplles at a Danish settlement— Perilous position of the Eescne — Polar bears — 
Open 8ea— Joined by the Prince Albert, Royal navy — Crimson Cliffs — ^Tremendous 
gale— Articles belonging to Franklin's ships — Three graves of Franklin's men — 
Oilier traces of the missing navigator — Approach of the Arctic winter — Battling 
with ice — Extreme perils — Five months in the ice— Arctic amnsements and em- 
ployments — Arctic night — Ke-appearance of the sun — Liberation of the ice-bound 
vpssels — Farther Explorations — I)ecide to return — Arrival at the Navy yard — Effects 
of the Expedition— WINTER IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN by Lieutenant De Haven. 

A. Summer Search for Sir John Franklin, with a Peep into the 
Polar Basin, by Commander E. A. Inglefield, in the Screw- 
steamer Isabel, in 1852 411 

First glimpse of Greenland — Singular accident — Examination of shores of Wol- 
Btenholme Sound- Northumberland Island — Point Frederick VII. — Appearance of 
the ice — Visits the graves of Franklin's men at Beechey Island — DilBculties of ad- 
vancing — Loss of spars — The return of the Isabel. 

Eighteen Months in the Polar Regions in search of Sir John 
Franklin's Expedition, in the years 1860-51, by Lieutenant 
Sherard Osborn, with the Steam-vessels Pioneer and Intrepid 421 

Dangers of anchoring to an ice-berg — Entangled in the pack — Enters Baffin's Bay — 
Lancaster Sound — Philosophy of ice-bergs — Regent's Inlet — Visit to Beechey Island 
-Tiiorough search of that island — Visits Barlow's Inlet — Passing the winter in the 
ihips — Occupations— Expeditions organized in the spring — Visit to Jones' Sound — 
Description of the Esquimaux races — Return home. 

Arctic Searching Expedition; a Journal of a Boat voyage 
through Rupert's Land and the Arctic Sea, in search of Sir 
John Franklin, by Sir John Ricliardson, in 1851 488 

Start ftom Montreal — Designated route — Intercourse with the Esyimaux — Sketch 
of the Esquimaux — Russell Inlet — Ilarrowby Bay — Cape Bathurst — Cape Kendall 
— Coppermine River — Kendall River — The Esquimaux of this region — Their religion 
— Their different races and tribes — The Kutchins — Fort Confidence — Basil Hall Bay 
— Bear Lake — Return, 

Tlie Second Voyage of the Prince Albert in search of Sir John 
Franklin, under the command of William Kennedy, in 1863 461 

Origin of this expedition — The outfit and instructions — Melville Bay — Prince Ro- 

Sent's Inlet — Port Leopold — Winter quarters at Whaler's Point — Fury Beach — Ind- 
ents during the winter — Capo Garry — Batty Bay — Return to England. 

Arctic Explorations; the Second Grinnell Expedition in search 
of Sir John Franklin, in 1853, '64, 55, by Dr. E. K. Kane, in 
the brig Advance ■ 473 

Outfit and pnrpose of the expedition— Visit to Danish settlements of Greenland- 
Pass Crimson Cliffs- Smith's Sound— Discovery of the Great Humboldt Glacier- 
Butter Island — Establishment of provision depots — Life on board the brig — Incidents 
of the first winter in the ice — Perilous expwlition — Further examination of Hum- 
boldt Glacier — West Land — Robert Morris Bay — Bear-fight — Peep into the Polar 
Basin — View of nature five hundred miles from the North Pole — Littleton Island — 
Becond winter in the ice— 0|>erations in the spring — Exploration of Kennedy Chan 
nel — Third view of Humboldt Glacier — Bear hunts — Preparations for return — De- 
parture from the brig — Conveyance of the sick — Anoatok — Slodge Party— Perilous 
tdventure— Death of Christian Ohlson— North Baffin's Bay— The embarkation— Di* 



coNa?BNT6. xiii 

ficult navigation— Murchison Channel— Narrow Escape— Weaiy Man's Rest— iW^r- 
/J5r-G^^— Cape York— Want of provisions — Seal hunt— Coast of Greenland— The 
Rayak— Discouraging ne'Ws— Arrival at Upemavik — Captain Hartstene's expedition 
in the Arctic and the Release — Adventures of that expedition — Return to Upemavik 
and discovery of Dr. Kane's party — Return to New York — Results of the expedition 
— Subsequent career of Dr. Kane — His death, Feb. i6, 1857. 

Expedition of Captain Francis McClintock. July i, 1857 . 520 

Discovery of the First Authentic Account of Sir John Franklin's £ate — Return of 
the " Fox " to Isle of Wight, September 20, 1859. 

Explorations of Dr. Isaac I. Hayes (Surgeon of Second Grinnell 
Expedition) 1860-61 522 

Dr. Hayes' First Expedition — He describes the Arctic night— His Open Polar Sea 
— Polar Sea of the future — Mild climates in the Arctic — The Glacier sjrstem — ^The 
Home of the Iceberg — Watching the Ice Mountains thrown oS by heat and expan- 
sion — Roaring as of artillery — Scenes in Northern seas. 

Dr. Charles F. Hall's Expeditions, 1860-71 . , . S40-565 

First Expedition in the " George Henry " ; Second Expedition in the *' Monti- 
cello " ; Third or North Polar Expedition in the U. S. Steamer " Polaris " — Various 
adventures and discoveries — Capt. Hall's death — Loss of the " Polaris" — Floating on 
the ice — Escape of the crews — Capt. Hall awarded the gold medal of the Geograph- 
ical Society of Paris — Results — Life among the Eskimos — Tombs of his native 
friends. 

Expeditions from Europe — Nordenskiold .... 564 

Weyprecht and Payer sail from Norway, June, 1871 — Discover Franz Joseph 
Land — Their sledges go to within 7* or 8° of the Pole— -Capts. Tobiesen, Mack and 
Carlsen — William Barentz — Helve and Smyth— Capts. Nares and Young, R. N. — 
Nordenskiold in the Vega— 550 miles from the Pole. 

Lieut. Schwatka's Expedition, 1878 ..... 566 

Schwatka and Gilder's Expedition to King William Land — Overland Sledge jour- 
ney of 3,251 miles. 1879-1880 — Relics of Franklin's men — Skull and bones of Lieut. 
John Irving sent to Scotland — Capt. Gilder's narrative — Schwatka's hunt of the 
musk-ox — Return, Sept. 22, 1880 — Receives the medal of Paris Geographical Society. 

Lieut. DeLong's Fatal Expedition in the " Jeannette '* . . 571 

Leaves San Francisco, July 8, 1879 — ^Takes the Bering Strait route — Crosses the 
path of the " Vega " — Encoimters solid ice and is frozen in near Herald Island and 
Wrangell Land — Jeannette sinks in 30 fathoms, June 13, 1881 ; her crew take to the 
floes and boats, and attempt to reach the Asiatic coast — Lieut. Chipp and the second 
cutter lost — DeLong in the first cutter and Danenhower in the whale-boat land at 
Lena Delta — DeLong and his party all perish except two, who reach a settlement — 
Their frozen bodies recovered — DeLong's last journal — Results of his expedition — 
Posthumous honors — Discussion of Arctic currents — The gate to the Pole barred in 
Bering sea — Description of Bering Strait, Sea, Asiatic and American coasts. 

Relief Expeditions, 1880, 1881, 1882 .... 588-597 

U. S. Steamers "Corwin," " Rodgers," "Alliance " — ^Their adventures in search of 
the " Jeannette," " Mount WoUaston," and "Vigilant" — The Corwin's crew ex- 
plores Herald Island and Wrangell Land — Mirages in the Polar seas — Ice-fields — 
Habits, language and religion of the Eskimos — The Albatross — Northeast and North- 
west Passages. 

Antarctic Expeditions — The '* Terra Australis Incognita " . 602 

Expeditions of Capt. Cook. Capt. Wm. Smith, Bellinghausen, Howell, Palmer, 
Capt Weddell, Capt. John Biscoe, Dumont D'Urville, Capt. Ross, Lieut. Charles 
Wilkes — Features of the Antarctic Ocean — Implements of dead races, &c. 



XIV CONTENTS. 

Lieut. A. W. Greely's Expedition — Signal Stations . . 606 

Grinnell Land, Lady Franklin Bay — Signal stations — Point Barrow, Alaska — Relief 
Expeditions — Rescue of the survivors of the Grbely party — Starvation — Cannibalism 
— Results — Arctic seasons, &c. — Signal stations rightly abandoned — Rigor of climate 
increasing in tlie Ice Zones — Open Polar Sea a delusion — North Pole only fit for the 
ghosts of explorers, and for phantom ships — Auroras, stars, tides — Latest Projects — 
Medals tp Greei.y, Brainaru, &c. 

Col. Wm. H. Gilder's Proposed Foot Journey to tlie Pole 634-639 

How he will get there, via Lady Frankhn Bay— Native hunters, dog-drivers and 
their families to be his sole companions in a "dash to the Pole." — The " Garden of 
Eden," the " Lost Race," and the " Magnetic World." — True Love on earth exists 
there only. 

Lieut. Greely's Oasis in Grinnell Land described in his book, 
"Three Years of Arctic Service." . , . , . 640 

What LocKwoOD and Grrkly discovered north of 80° N — An ice-girt island 
with " luxuriant vegetation " in April, and the hum of insects in July, etc. — The 
" devil's darning needle " there — Signs of a mild climate and prolificness at the Pole 
in a past epoch — Why not in the future ? 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

?) The Jeannette in the Ice (Frontispiece) Page. J 

The Esquimaux Dogs 126 '^ 

The Wolves 166 — 

— • The Advance Among Hummocks 353 ~ 

— — • Advance and Rescue Beatmg to Windward of an Iceberg 360 -^ 

"""• " " Perilous situation in Melville Bay. 363 

"^ " " and Prince Albert near the Devil's Thumb 367 

f— • Advance leading the Prince Albert near Leopold Island 374 

Anvil Block, Guide Board 375 

Three Graves at Beechey 376 '^ 

"—•The Advance Stranded at Cape Riley 377 

■"**» The Advance and Rescue at Barlow's Inlet 382 - - 

" " " during the Winter of 1850-51 384-- 

" " " drifting in Wellington Sound 385 

— The Advance in Davis' Straits, June 5, 185 1 3S9 -- 

Hauling Up a Bear 440 '^ 

The Natives .449 

Polar Bear and the Esquimaux 549 

Hoisting a Sail 550 -^ 

Hunting the Walrus 55' - 

Shfioting a Bear 555 . 

All Arctic Scene, Bears 560 -. 

The I'olaris in Thank God Harbor 563 - 

Furred Animals 568 

The Jeannette Wedged In 574 - 

Dashed Upon the Ice 5S0 

Unfurling the Flag 588 

The Ice-Burst 5qi 

Aurora Borealis 614 

The Raft Sinking . ...620 

Thousands of Birds — An Oasis , 639 



j^. 



THE PEOGRESS 

OP 

ARCTIC DISCOVERY 

IN THE 

OTNETEENTH CENTUKY. 



If we examine a map of Northern, or Arctic, Amer- 
ica, showing* what was known of the countries around 
the Korth Pole in the commencement of the present 
century, we shall find that all within the Arctic circle 
was a complete blank. Mr. Hearne had, indeed, seen 
the Arctic Sea in the year 1771 ; and Mr. Mackenzie had 
traced the river which now bears his name to its junc- 
tion with the sea ; but not a single line of the coast 
from Icy Cape to Baffin's Bay was known. The east- 
ern and western shores of Greenland, to about 75° lat- 
itude, were tolerably well defined, ffom the visits of 
whaling vessels ; Hudson's Bay and Strait were par- 
tially known; but Baffin's Bay, according to the state- 
ment of Mr. Baffin, in 1616, was bounded by land on 
the west, running parallel with the 90th meridian of 
longitude, or across what is now known to us as Bar- 
row's Strait, and probably this relation led to the sub- 
sequently formed hasty opinion of Captain Sir John 
Ross, as to his visionary Croker Mountains, of which 
I shall have occasion to speak hereafter. 

As early as the year 1527, the idea of a passage to 
the East Indies by the North Pole was suggested by a 



26 FROGRRSS Of ARCTIC DISCOVERY 

Bristol merchant to Henry VIII., but no voyage seema 
to have been undertaken for the purpose of navigating 
the Polar'seas, till the commencement of the following 
century, when an expedition was fitted out at the ex- 
pense of certain merchants of London. To this attempt 
several others succeeded at diiferent periods, and all 
of them were projected and carried into execution by 
private individuals. The adventurers did not indeed 
accomplish the object they exclusively sought, that of 
reaching India by a nearer route than doubling the 
Cape of Good Hope, but though they failed in that 
respect, the fortitude, perseverance, and skill which 
they manifested, exhibited the most irrefragable proofs 
of the early existence of that superiority in naval af- 
fairs, which has elevated this country to her present 
eminence among the nations of Europe. 

At length, after the lapse of above a century and a 
half, this interesting question became an object of 
Koyal patronage, and the expedition which was com- 
manded by Captain Phipps (afterward Lord Mulgrave,) 
in 1773, was ntted out at the charge of Government. 
The first proposer of this voyage was the Hon. Daines 
Barrington, F. K. S., who, with indefatigable assiduity, 
began to collect every fact tending to establish the 
practicability of circumnavigating the Pole, and as he 
accumulated his materials, he read them to the Eoyal 
Society, who, in consequence of these representations, 
mad« that application to Lord Sandwich, then First 
Lord of the Admiralty, which led to the appointment 
of this first official voyage. Captain Phipps, however, 
found it impossible to penetrate the wall of ice which 
extended for many degrees between the latitude of 80° 
and 81°, to the north of Spitzbergen. His vessels were 
the Racehorse and Carcass ; Captain Lutwidge being 
Lis second in command, in the latter vessel, and hav- 
ing with him, then a mere boy, Ifelson, the future 
hero of England. 

From the year 1648, when the famous Russian navi- 
gator, Senor Deshnew, penetrated from the river 
Kolyma through the Polar into the Pacific Ocean, the 



INTRODUCTION. 27 

Russians have been as arduous in tlieii attempts tc dis- 
cover a northeast passage to the north of Cape Shel- 
atskoi, as the English have been to sail to the north- 
west of the American continent, through Baffin's Bay 
and Lancaster Sound. On the side of the Pacific, 
many efforts, have, within the last century, been made 
to further this object. In 1741, the celebrated Captain 
Behring discovered the straits which bear his name, as 
we are informed by Muller, the chronicler of Russian 
discoveries, and several subsequent commanders of 
that nation seconded his endeavors to penetrate from 
the American continent to the northeast. From the 
period when Deshnew sailed on his expedition, to the 
year 1764, when Admiral Tchitschagof, an indefatiga- 
ble and active officer, endeavored to force a passage 
round Spitzbergen, (which, although he attempted with 
a resolution and skill which would fall to the lot of 
few, he was unable to effect,) and thence to the present 
times, including the arduous efforts of Captain Billings 
and Yancouver, and the more recent one of M. Yon 
Wrangell, the Russians have been untiring in tlieir at- 
sempts to discover a passage eastward, to the north 
of Cape Taimur and Cape Shelatskoi. And certainly, 
if skill, perseverance, and courage, could have opened 
this passage, it would have been accomplished. 

Soon after the general peace of Europe, when war's 
alarms had given way to the high pursuits of science, 
the government recommenced the long-suspended 
work of prosecuting discoveries within the Arctic circle. 

An expedition was dispatched under the command 
of Sir John Ross, in order to explore the scene of the 
former labors of Frobisher and Baffin. Still haunted 
with the golden dreams of a northwest passage, which 
Barrington and Beaufoy had in the last age so enthu 
siastically advocated, our nautical adventurers by no 
means relinquished the long-cherished chimera. 

It must be admitted, however, that the testimony of 
Parry and Franklin pass for much on the other side 
of the question. Both these officers, whose researches 
in the cause of scientific discovery entitle then ' o very 



28 PliOGKESS 01 AKCTIC DISCOVEKY. 

high respect, have declared it as their opinion that 
such a passage does not exist to the north of the 75th 
degree of latitude. 

Captain Parry, in the concluding remarks of his first 
voyage, (vol. ii. p. 241,) says — " Of the existence of a 
northwest passage to the Pacific, it is now scarcely 
possible to doubt, and from the success which attended 
our efforts in 1819, after passing through Sir James 
Lancaster's Sound, we were not unreasonable in anti 
cipating its complete accomplishment," &c. And 
Franklin, in the eleventh chapter of his work, is of the 
same opinion, as to the practicability of such a passage 

But in no subsequent attempt, either by themselves 
or others, has this long sought desideratum been ac- 
complished ; impediments and barriers seem as thickly 
thrown in its way as ever.* 

An expedition was at length undertaken for the sole 
purpose of reaching the North Pole, with a view to 
the ascertainment of philosophical questions. It was 
planned and placed under the command of Sir Edward 
Parry, and here first the elucidation of phenomena 
connected with this imaginary axis- of our planet 
formed the primary object of investigation . 

My space and purpose in this work will not permit 
me to go into detail by examining what Barrow justly 
terms " those brilliant periods of early English enter- 
prise, so conspicuously displayed in every quarter of 
the globe, but in none, probably, to greater advantage 
than in those bold and persevering efforts to pierce 
through frozen seas, in their little slender barks, of the 
most miserable description, ill provided with the means 
either of comfort or safety, without charts or insti-u- 
ments, or any previous knowledge of the cold and in- 
liospitable region through which they had to force and 
to feel their way; their vessels oft beset amidst end- 
less fields of ice, and threatened to be overwhelmed 
with instant destruction from the rapid whirling and 
bursting of those huge floating masses, known by the 

• Colonial Magazino, ^ol. xiil p. 340 



INTIIODUCTIOJS. 2b 

name of icebergs. Yet so powerfully infused iuto the 
minds of Britons was the spirit of enterprise, that 
some of the ablest, the most learned, and most respect- 
able men of the times, not only lent their countenance 
and support to expeditions fitted out for the discovery 
of new lands, but strove eagerly, in their own persons, 
to share in the glorj and the danger of every daring 
adventure." 

To the late Sir John Barrow, F. R. S., for so long a 
period secretary of the Admiralty, and who, in early 
life, himself visited the Spitzbergen seas, as high as 
the 80th parallel, we are mainly indebted for the ad- 
vocac}^ and promotion of the several expeditions, and 
the investigations and inquiries set on foot in the pres- 
ent century, and to the voyages which have been hith- 
erto so successfully carried out as regards the interests 
of siuence and our knowledge of the Polar regions. 

Although it is'absm'd to impute the direct responsi- 
bility for these expeditions to any other quarter than 
the several administrations during which they were 
undertaken, there can be no question but that these 
enterprises originated in Sir tfohn Barrow's able and 
zealous exhibition, to our naval authorities, of the 
several facts and arguments upon which they might 
best be justified and prosecuted as national objects. 
The general anxiety now prevailing respecting the fate 
of Sir John Franklin and his gallant companions, 
throws at this moment somewhat of a gloom on the 
subject, but it ought to be remembered that, up to the 
present period, our successive Polar voyages have, 
without exception, given occupation to the energies 
and gallantry of energetic seamen, and have extended 
the realms of magnetic and general science, at an ex- 
pense of lives and money quite insignificant, compared 
with the ordinary dangers and casualties of such expe- 
ditions, and that it must be a very narrow spirit and 
view of the subject which can raise the cry of ^^Cui 
hono^'^ and counsel us to relinquish the honor and peril 
of such enterprises. 



30 PROGRESS OF AROTIC DISCOVERY. 

It can scarcely be deemed out of place to give here 
a short notice of the literary labors of this excellent 
and talented man, as I am not aware that such an out- 
line has appeared before. 

Sir John Barrow was one of the chief writers for the 
Quarterly Review, and his articles in that journal 
amount to nearly 200 in number, forming, v/hen bound 
up, twelve separate volumes. All those relating to 
the Arctic Expeditions, (fee, which created the great- 
est interest at the period they were published, wsre 
from his pen, and consist chiefly of the following pa- 
pers, commencing from the 18th volume ; — On Polar 
Ice ; On Behring's Straits and the Polar Basin ; On 
Ross's Yoyage to Baffin's Bay ; On Parry's First Yoy- 
age ; Kotzebue's Yoyage ; Franklin's First Expedition ; 
Parry's Second and Third Yoyages, and Attempt to 
Reach the Pole ; Franklin's Second Expedition ; Lyon's 
Yoyage to Repulse Bay ; Back's Arctic Land Expe- 
dition, and his Yoyage of the Terror. Besides these 
he published " A Chronological History of Yoyages 
to the Arctic Seas," and afterward a second volume, 
"On the Yoyages of Discovery and Research within 
the Arctic Regions." 

He also wrote lives of Lord Macartney, 2 vols. 4to ; 
of Lord Anson and Howe, each 1 vol. 8vo ; of Peter 
tlie Great; and an Account of the Mutiny of the 
Bounty, (in the " Family Library ; ") " Travels in 
Southern Africa," 2 vols, 4to ; and " Travels in 
China and Cochin China," each 1 vol. 4to. 

In the "Encyclopedia Britannica" are ten or 
twelve of his articles, and he wrote one in the Edin- 
burgh Review by special request. 

In addition to these Sir John Barrow prepared for 
the press innumerable MSS. of travelers in all parts 
of the globe, the study of geography being his great 
delight, as is evidenced by his having founded the 
Royal Geographical Society of London, which now 
holds 80 high and influential a position in the learned 
Mud scientific world, and has advanced so materially 
the |)rogress of discovery and research in all parts of 



INTRODUCTION. 31 

the globe Lastly, Sir John Barrow, not long befove 
his death, published his own autobiography, in which 
he records the labors, the toil, and adventure, of a long 
and honorable public life. 

Sir John Barrow has described, with voluminous caie 
and minute research, the arduous services of all the 
chief Arctic voyagers by sea and land, and to his voi 
ume I must refer those who wish to obtain more exteu 
sive details and particulars of the voyages of preceding 
centuries. He has also graphically set forth, to use his 
own words, " their several characters and conduct, so 
uniformly displayed in their unflinching perseverance 
in difficulties of no ordinary description, their patient 
endurance of extreme suffering, borne without mur- 
muring, and with an equanimity and fortitude of mind 
under the most appalling distress, rarely, if ever, 
equaled, and such as could only be supported by a 
superior degree of moral courage and resignation to 
the Divine will — displaying virtues like those of no 
ordinary caste, and such as will not fail to excite the 
sympathy, and challenge the admiration of every right- 
feeling reader." 

Hakluyt, in his " Chronicle of Voyages," justly ob- 
serves, that we should use much care in preserving the 
memories of the worthy acts of our nation. 

The different sea voyages and land journeys of the 
present century toward the North Pole have redounded 
to the honor of our country, as well as reflected credit 
on the characters and reputation of the officers engaged 
in them ; and it is to these I confine my observations. 

The progress of discovery in the Arctic regions has 
been slow but progressive, and much still within the 
limits of practical navigation remains yet unexplored. 
The English nation very naturally wish that discov- 
eries which were first attempted by the adventurous 
spirit and maritime skill of their countrymen, should 
be finally achieved by the same means. 

" Wil it not," says the worthy ^ preacher,' Haklnyt, 
" in all posteritie be as great a renown vnto our En- 
glish natione, to have beene the first discouerers of a 



32 PKOaKESS or AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Boa bcyoud the North Cape, (neuer certain ely knowen 
before,) and of a conuenient passage into the huge em- 
pire of Russia by the Baie of St. Nicholas and of the 
Kiuer of Duina, as for the Portugales, to have found 
a sea beyond the Cape of Buona Esperanza, and so 
consequently a passage by sea into the East Indies ? " 

I cordial^ agree with the Quarterly Review, that 

' neither the country nor the naval service will ever 

believe they have any cause to regret voyages which, 

in the eyes of foreigners and posterity, must confer 

lasting honor upon both." 

The cost of these voyages has not been great, while 
the consequences will be permanent ; for it has been 
well remarked, by a late writer, that " the record of 
enterprising hardihood, physical endurance, and steady 
perseverance, displayed in overcoming elements the 
most adverse, will long remain among the worthiest 
memorials of human enterprise." 

" How shall I admire, " says Purchas, " your heroic 
courage, ye marine worthies, beyond all names of 
worthiness ! that neyther dread so long eyther the 
presence or absence of the sunne ; nor those foggy 
mysts, tempestuous winds, cold blasts, snowe and 
hayle in the ayre ; nor the unequall seas, which might 
amaze the hearer, and amate the beholder, when the 
Tritons and Neptune's selfe would quake with chilling 
feare to behold such monstrous icie ilands, renting 
tliemselves with terror of their own massines, and dis- 
dayning otherwise both the sea's sovereigntie and the 
sunne's hottest violence, mustering themselves in those 
watery plaines where they hold a continual civil] 
warre, and rushing one upon another, make windes 
and waves give backe ; seeming to rent the eares of 
others, while they rent themselves with crashing and 
splitting their congealed armors." 

So thickly are the Polar seas of the northern hemi- 
sphere clustered with lands, that the long winter months 
ser^e to accumulate filed ice to a prodigious extent, so 
as to form an almost 'mpenetrable barrier of hypei 
borean frost — 



INTKODUCTION. 33 

" A crystal pavement by the breath of Heaven 
Oemented firm." 

Although there are now no new continents left to 
discover, our intrepid British adventurers are but too 
eager to achieve the bubble reputation, to hand down 
their names to future ages for patient endurance, zeal, 
and enterprise, bj explorations of the hidden mys- 
teries of — 

" the frigid zone, 
Where, for relentless months, continual night 
Holds o'er the glittering waste her starry light ; " 

by undergoing perils, and enduring privations and 
dangers which the mind, in its reflective moments, 
shudders to contemplate. 

It is fair to conjecture that, so intense is the cold, 
aud so limited the summer, and consequently so short 
the time allowed for a transit within the Arctic circle, 
from Baffin's Bay to Behring's Straits, that a passage, 
even if discovered, will never be of any use as a chan- 
nel. It is not likely that these expeditions vrould ever 
have been persevered in with so much obstinacy, had 
tlie prospects now opening on the world of more prac- 
ticable connections with the East been know^n forty 
years ago. Hereafter, when the sacred demands of 
humanity have been answered, very little more will 
be heard about the northwest passage to Asia ; which, 
if ever found, must be always hazardous and pro- 
tracted, when a short and quick one can be accom- 
plished by railroads through America, or canals across 
the Isthmus. 

A thorough knowledge of the relative boundaries of 
land and ocean on this our globe has, in all ages and 
by all countries, been considered one of the most im- 
portant desiderata, and one of the chief features of 
po])nlar information. 

But to no country is this knowledge of such prac- 
tical utility and of such essential importance, as to a 
maritime nation like Great Britain, whose mercantile 
marine visits every port, whose insular position ren- 
ders her completely dependent upon distant quarters 
3 




34 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

for half the necessary supplies, whether of food or lux 
ury, which her native population consume, or which 
the arts and manufactures, of which she is the empori 
um, require. 

With a vast and yearly increasing dominion, cover 
ing almost every region of the habitable globe, — the 
chart of her colonies being a chart of the world in out- 
line, sweeping the globe and touching every shore, — it 
becomes necessary that she should keep pace with the 
progress of colonization, by enlarging, wherever pos- 
sible, her maritime discoveries, completing and veri- 
fying our nautical surveys, improving her meteorologi- 
cal researches, opening up new and speedier periodical 
pathways over the oceans which were formerly trav- 
ersed with so much danger, doubt, and difficulty, and 
maintaining her superiority as the greatest of maritime 
nations, by sustaining that high and distinguished rank 
for naval eminence which has ever attached to the 
British name. 

The arduous achievements, however, of her nautical 
discoveries have seldom been appreciated or rewarded 
as they deserved. She loads her naval and military 
heroes — the men who guard her wooden walls and 
successfully figlit her battles — with titles and pen- 
sions ; she heaps upon these, and deservedly so, prince- 
ly remuneration and all manner of distinctions ; but 
for the heroes whose patient toil and protracted endu 
ranee far surpass the turmoil of war, who peril thei' 
lives in the cause of science, many of whom fall vie 
tims to pestilential climes, famine, and the host of dan 
gers which environ the voyager and traveler in uiiex 
plored lands and unknown seas, she has only a place ii 
the niche of fame. 

What honors did England, as a maritime nation, con- 
fer on Cook, the foremost of her naval heroes, — a man 
whose life was sacrificed for his country ? His widow 
had an annuity of 200^., and his surviving children 
25^. each per annum. And this is the reward paid to 
the most eminent of her naval discoverers, before 
whom Cabot, Drake, Frobisher, Magellan, Anson, and 



mTliODUCTlOK. 35 

thb arctic adventurers, Hudson and Baffin, — although 
all eminent for their discoveries and the important 
services they rendered to the cause of nautical sci- 
ence, — sink into insignificance ! If we glance at the 
results of Cook's voyages we find that to him we are 
indebted for the innumerable discoveries of islands and 
colonies planted in the Pacific ; that he determined 
clie conformation, and surveyed the numerous bays 
and inlets, of New Holland ; established the geogra- 
phical position of the northwestern shores of America ; 
ascertained the trending of the ice and frozen shores to 
the north of Behring's Straits ; approached nearer the 
South Pole, and made more discoveries in the Austra- 
lian regions, than .all the navigators who had preceded 
him. On the very shores of their vast empire, at the 
extremity of Kamtschatka, his active genius first 
taught the Russians to examine the devious trendings 
of the lands which border the Frozen Ocean, in the 
neighborhood of the Arctic circle. He explored both 
the eastern and western coasts above Behring's Straits 
to so high a latitude as to decide, beyond doubt, the 
question as to the existence of a passage round the two 
continents. He showed the Russians how to navigate 
the dangerous seas between the old and the new 
world ; for, as Coxe has remarked, " before his time, 
every thing was uncertain and confused, and though 
they had undoubtedly reached the continent of Amer- 
ica, yet they had not ascertained the line of coast, nor 
the separation or vicinity of the two continents of Asia 
and America." Coxe, certainly, does no more than 
justice to his illustrious countryman when he adds, 
" the solution of this important problem was reserved 
for our great navigator, and every Englishman must 
exult that the discoveries of Cook were extended fur 
ther in a single expedition, and at the distance of half 
the globe, than the Russians accomplished in a long 
series of years,, and in a region contiguous to their own 
empire." 

Look at Weddell, again, a private trader in seal- 
skins, who, in a frail bark of 160 tons, made important 
B 



30 PBOGltESS OF AKOTIC UlSOO VliJltY. 

discoveries in the Antarctic circle, and a voyage of 
greater length and peril, through a thousand miles of 
ice, than had previously been performed by any navi- 
gator, paving the way for the more expensively fitted 
expedition under Sir James Ross. Was Weddell re- 
munerated on a scale commensurate with his important 
services ? 

Haifa century ago the celebrated Bruce of Kinnaird, 
by a series of soundings and observations taken in the 
Red Sea, now the great highway of overland eastern 
traffic, rendered its navigation more secure and punc- 
tual. How was he rewarded by the then existing min- 
istry ? 

Take a more recent instance in the indefatigable 
energy of Lieutenant Waghorn, R. ]^., the enterprising 
pioneer of the overland route to India. What does not 
the commerce, the character, the reputation, of his 
country owe to his indefatigable exertions, in bringing 
the metropolis into closer connection with her vast and 
important Indian empire ? And what was the reward 
he received for the sacrifices he made of time, money, 
health and life ? A paltry annuity to himself of lOOZ., 
and a pension to his widow of 25Z. per annum ! 

Is it creditable to her as the first naval power of tlie 
world that she should thus dole out miserable pittances, 
or entirely overlook the successful patriotic exertions 
and scientific enterprises and discoveries of private 
adventurers, or public commanders ? 

The attractions of a summer voyage along the bays 
and' seas where the sun shines for four months at a time, 
exploring the bare rocks and everlasting ice, with no 
companion but the white bear or the Arctic fox, may 
be-all very romantic at a distance ; but the mere thought 
of a winter residence there, frozen fast in some solid 
ocean, with snow a dozen feet deep, the thermomctei 
ranging fi-om 40° to 50° below zero, and not a glimpse 
of the blessed sun from November to February, is 
enouc^h to c^ive a chill to all adventurous notions. But 
the officers and men engaged in the searching expedi- 
tions after Sir John Franklin have calmly weiglied all 



riKST VOYAGE OF CAPTaiN BOSS. oT 

these diflSculties, and boldly gone forth to encounter 
the perils and dangers of these icy seas for the sake of 
their noble fellow-sailor, whose fate has been so long a 
painful mystery to the world. 

It has been truly observed, that " this is a service 
for which all officers, however brave and intelligent 
they may be, are not equally qualified ; it requires a 
peculiar tact, an inquisitive and persevering pursuit 
after details of fact, not always interesting, a contempt 
of danger, and an enthusiasm not to be damped by 
ordinary difficulties." 

The records which I shall have to give in these pages 
of voyages and travels, unparalleled in their perils, 
their duration, and the protracted sufferings which 
many of them entailed on the adventurers, will bring 
out in bold relief the prominent characters who have 
figured in Arctic Discovery, and whose names will 
descend to posterity, emblazoned on the scroll of fame, 
for their bravery, their jDatient endurance, their skill, 
and, above all, their firm trust and reliance on that 
Almighty Being who, although He may have tried 
them sorely, has never utterly forsaken them. 



Oapt. John Boss's Voyage, 1818. 

In 1818, His Koyal Highness the Prince Regent 
having signified his pleasure that an attempt should 
be made to find a passage by sea between the Atlantic 
and Pacific Oceans, the Lords Commissioners of the 
Admiralty were pleased to fit out four vessels to pro- 
ceed toward the North Pole, under the command of 
Captain John Ross. ISTo former expedition had been 
fitted out on so extensive a scale, or so completely 
equipped in every respect as this one. The circum- 
stance which mainly led to the sending out of these 
vessels, was the open character of the bays and seas 
in those regions, it having been observed for the pre- 
vious three years that very unusual quantities of the 
polar ice had floated down into the Atlantic. In the 



38 PROGRESS UF ARCTIC DISCO VJiKf. 

year 1817, Sir John Barrow relates that the eastern 
coast of Greenland, which had been shut up with ice 
for four centuries, was found to be accessible from the 
TOth to the 80th degree of latitude, and the interme- 
diate sea between it and Spitzbergen was bo entirely 
open in the latter parallel, that a Hamburgh ship had 
actually sailed along this track. 

On the 15th of January, 1818, the four ships were 
put in commission — the Isabella, 385 tons, and the 
Alexander, 252 tons — under Captain Ross, to proceed 
up the middle of Davis' Strait, to a high northern lati- 
tude, and then to stretch across to the westward, in 
the hope of being able to pass the northern extremity 
of America, and reach Behring's Strait by that route. 
Those destined for the Polar sea were, the Dorothea, 
382 tons, and the Trent, 249 tons, which were ordered 
to proceed between Greenland and Spitzbergen, and 
seek a passage through an open Polar sea, if such 
should be found in that direction. 

I shall take these voyages in the order of their pub- 
lication, Ross having given to the world the account 
of his voyage shortly after his return in 1819 : while 
the narrative of the voyage of the Dorothea and Trent 
was only published in 1843, by Captain Beechey, who 
served as Lieutenant of the Trent, during the voyage. 

The following were the officers, &c., of the ships 
under Captain Boss : — 

Isabella. 

Captain — John Ross. 

Lieutenant — W. Robertson. 

Purser — W. Thom, 

Surgeon — John Edwards. 

Assistant Surgeon — C. J. Beverley. 

Admiralty Midshipmen — A. M. Skene and James 

Clark Ross. 
Midshipman and Clerk— » J. Bushnan. 
Greenland Pilots — B. Lewis, master; T. Wilcox, 

mate. 
Captain (now Colonel) Sabine, R. A. 



FlRSl VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN KOSS. B9 

45 peity officers, seamen, and marines. 

Whole complement, 57. 

Alexander. 

Lieutenant and Commander — William Edward 

Parry, (now Captain Sir Edward.) 
Lieutenant — H. H. Hoopner, (a first rate artist.) 
Purser — W. H. Hooper. 
Greenland Pilots — J. Allison, master; J. Philips 

mate. 
Admiralty Midshipmen — P. Bisson and J. Kius. 
Assistant Surgeon — A. Fisher, 
Clerk — J. Halse. 
28 petty officers, seamen, (fee. 

Whole complement, 37. 

On the 2d of May, the four vessels being reported 
fit for sea, rendezvoused in Brassa Sound, Shetland, 
and the two expeditions parted company on the follow- 
ing day for their respective destinations. 

On the 26th, the Isabella fell in with the first ice- 
berg, which appeared to be about forty feet high and 
a thousand feet long. It is hardly possible to imagine 
any thing more exquisite than the variety of tints which 
these icebergs display ; by night as well as by day they 
glitter with a vividness of color beyond the power of 
art to represent. While the white portions have the 
brilliancy of silver, their colors are as various and 
splendid as those of the rainbow ; their ever-changing 
disposition producing effects as singular as they are 
new and interesting to those who have not seen them 
before. 

On the 17th of June, they reached Waygatt Sound, 
beyond Disco Island, where they found forty-five 
whalers detained by the ice. Waygatt Island, from 
observations taken on shore, was found to be 5° longi- 
tude and 30 miles of latitude from the situation as laid 
down in the Admiralty OlTarts. 

They were not able to get away from here till the 
20th, when the ice began to l)reak. By cutting passages 



40 PEOGHESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

through the ice, and by dint of towing and warping, 
a slow progress was made with the ships until the 
17th of July, when two ice-floes closing in upon them, 
threatened inevitable destruction, and it was only by 
the greatest exertions that they hove through into open 
water. The labors of warping, towing, and tracking 
were subsequently very severe. This tracking, al- 
though hard work, afforded great amusement to the 
men, giving frequent occasion for the exercise of their 
wit, when some of the m^en occasionally fell in through 
holes covered with snow or weak parts of the ice. 

Yeiy high mountains of land and ice were seen to 
the north side of the bay, which he named Melville's 
Bay, forming an impassable barrier, the precipices 
next the sea being from 1000 to 2000 feet high. 

On the 29th of June, the Esquimaux, John Sacheuse, 
who had accompanied the expedition from England as 
interpreter, was sent on shore to communicate with 
the natives. About a dozen came off to visit the ship, 
and, after being treated with coffee and biscuit in the 
cabin, and having their portraits taken, they set to 
dancing Scotch reels on the deck of the Isabella with 
the sailors. 

Captain Koss gives a pleasant description of this 
scene — " Sacheuse's mirth and joy exceeded all 
bounds^: and with a good-humored ofiiciousness, justi- 
fied by the important distinction which his superior 
knowledge now gave him, he performed the office of 
master of the ceremonies. An Esquimaux M. C. to a 
ball on the deck of one of H. M. ships in the icy seas 
of Gi'eenland, was an office somewhat new, but Nash 
himself could not have performed his functions in a 
manner more appropriate. It did not belong even to 
Nash to combine in his own person, like Jack, the dis- 
cordant qualifications of seaman, jnterpreter, draughts- 
man, and master of ceremonies to a ball, with those 
of an active fisher of seals and a hunter of white bears. 
A daughter of the Danish resident (by in Esquimaux 
woman,) about eighteen years of age, and by far tho 
best looking of the haU-caste group, was; the object of 



FIKST VOlTAGU OF OAPTAm EOSS. 41 

Jack's particular attentions ; which being observed by 
one of our officers, he gave him a lady's shawl, orna- 
mented mth spangles, as an offering for her acceptance. 
He presented it in a most respectful, and not ungrace- 
ful manner to the damsel, who bashfully took a pew- 
ter ring from her finger and gave it to him in return, 
rewarding him, at the same time, with an eloquent 
smile, which could leave no doubt on our Esquimaux's 
mind that he had made an impression on her heart.""^ 
On the 5th of August the little auks (Mergulfus alle,) 
were exceedingly abundant, and many were shot for 
food, as was also a large gull, two feet five inches in 
length, which, when killed, disgorged one of these 
little birds entire. 

A fortnight later, on two boats being sent from the 
Isabella to procure as many of these birds as possible, 
for the purpose of preserving them in ice, they re- 
turned at midnight with a boat-load of about 1500, 
having on an average, killed fifteen at each shot. The 
boats of the Alexander were nearly as successful. 
These birds were afterward served daily to each man, 
and, among other ways of dressing them, they were 
found to make excellent soup — not inferior to hare 
soup. Not less than two hundred auks were shot on 
the 6th of August, and served out to the ships' compa- 
nies, among whose victuals they. proved an agreeable 
variety, not having the fishy flavor tliat might be ex- 
pected from their food, which consists of Crustacea, 
small fishes, mollusca, or marine vegetables. 

On the 7th of August the ships were placed in a 
most critical situation by a gale of wind. The Isabella 
was lifted by the pressure of ice floes on each side of 
her, and it was doubted whether the vessel could long 
withstand the grips and concussions she sustained ; 
** every support threatened to give way, the beams in 
the hold began to bend, and the iron water- tanks 
settled together. The two vessels were thrown with 
violent concussion against each other, the ice-anchors 

* Vol. I, p G7, 68. 
•9* 



42 PUOGEESS OF AJRCTlG DiSCOVERf . 

and cables broke one after the other, a boat at the 
stern was smashed in the collision, and the masts 
were hourly expected to go by the board ; but at this 
juncture, when certain destruction was momentarily 
looked for, by the merciful interposition of Providence 
the fields of ice suddenly opened and formed a clear 
passage for the ships." 

A singular physical feature was noticed on the part 
of the coast near Cape Dudley Digges : — " We have 
discovered, (says Ross,) that the snow on the face of 
the cliffs presents an appearance both novel and inter- 
esting, being apparently stained or covered by some 
substance which gave it a deep crimson color. . TJiis 
snov/ was penetrated in many places to a depth of ten 
or twelve feet by the coloring matter." There is noth- 
ing new, however, according to Barrow, in the discov- 
ery of red snow. Pliny, and other writers of his time 
mention it. Saussure found it in various parts of the 
Alps ; Martin found it in Spitzbergen, and no doubt 
it is to be met with in most alpine regions. 

In the course of this tedious, and often laborious 
progress through the ice, it became necessary to keep 
the whole of the crew at the most fatiguing work, some- 
times for several days and nights without intermission. 
When this was the case, an extra meal was served to 
them at midnight, generally of preserved meat ; and 
it was found that this nourishment, when the mind 
and body were both occupied, and the sun continually 
present, rendered them capable of remaining without 
sleep, so that they often passed three days in this man- 
ner without any visible inconvenience, returning after 
a meal to their labor on the ice or in the boats quite 
refreshed, and continuing at it without a murmur. 

After making hasty and very cursory examinations 
of Smith's and Jones' Sounds, Ross arrived, on the 
30th of August, off the extensive inlet, named by Raf 
fin, Lancaster Sound. The entrance was perfectly 
clear, and the soundings ranged from 650 to 1000 fath 
oms. I sliall now quote Ross's own observations ot. 
this subject, because from his unfortunate report of o 



FIK6T VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN ROSS. 4:3 

range called the Croker mountains, stretching across 
tliis Strait, has resulted much of the ridicule and dis 
credit which has attached to his accounts, and clouded 
his earlj reputation — " On the 31st (he says) we dis- 
covered, for the first time, that the land extended from 
the south two-thirds across this apparent Strait ; but 
the fog which continually occupied that quarter, ob- 
scured its real figure. During the day much interest 
was excited on board by the appearance of this Strait. 
The general opinion, however, was, that it was only an 
inlet. The land was partially seen extending across ; 
the yellow sky was perceptible. At a little before four 
o'clock A. M., the land was seen at the bottom of the 
inlet by the officers of the watch, but before I got on 
deck a space of about seven degrees of the compass 
was obscured by the fog. The land which I then saw 
was a high ridge of mountains extending directly across 
the bottom of the inlet. This chain appeared extremely 
high in the center. Although a passage in this direc- 
tion appeared hopeless, I was determined to explore it 
completely. I therefore continued all sail. Mr. Bev- 
erly, the surgeon, who was the most sanguine, went up 
to the crow's nest, and at twelve reported to me that 
before it became thick he had seen the land across the 
bay, except for a very short space. 

"At three, I went on deck ; it completely cleared for 
ten minutes, when I distinctly saw the land round the 
bottom of the bay, forming a chain of mountains con- 
nected with those which extended along the north and 
south side. This land appeared to be at the distance 
of eight leagues, and Mr. Lewis, the master, and James 
llaig, leading man, being sent for, they took its bear- 
ings, which were inserted in the log. At this moment 
I also saw a continuity of ice at the distance of seven 
miles, extending from one side of the bay to the other, 
between the nearest cape to the north, which I named 
after Sir George Warrender, and that to the south, 
which was named after Yiscount Castlereagh. The 
niountains, which occup'sd the center, in a north a^nd 

3 H^ 



4:4 rROGRESS OF AKCTIO DISCO VEliY. 

south direction, were named Croker's Mountains, after 
tlie Secretary to the Admiralty.""^ 

They next proceeded to Possession Bay, at the en- 
trance of the Strait, where a great many animals were 
observed. Deer, fox, ermine, bears, and hares, were 
either seen, or proved to be in abundance by their 
tracks, and the skeleton of a whale was found stranded 
about 500 yards beyond high-water-maik. Finding, as 
Eoss supposed, no outlet through Lancaster Strait, the 
vessels continued their progress to the southward, ex- 
ploring the western coast of Baffin's Bay to Pond's 
Bay, and Booth's Inlet, discovering the trending of the 
land, which he named ISTorth Galloway, and North 
Ayr to Cape Adair, and Scott's Bay. 

On September tlie 10th, they landed on. an island 
near Cape Egliogton, which was named Agnes' Monu- 
ment. A flag-staff and a bottle, with an account of 
their proceedings was set up. The remains of a tem- 
porary liabitation of some of the Esquimaux were here 
oi)served, with a fire-place, part of a human skull, a 
broken stone vessel, some bones of a seal, burnt wood, 
part of a sledge, and tracks of dogs, &c. 

While the boat was absent, two large bears swam off 
to the ships, which were at the distance of six miles 
from the land. Tliey reached the Alexander, and were 
immediately attacked by the boats of that ship, and 
killed. One, which was shot through the head, unfor- 
tunately sank ; the other, on being wounded, attacked 
tlie boats, and showed considerable play, but was at 
length secured and towed to the Isabella by the boats 
of both sliips. The animal weighed 1131 i lbs., besides 
the blood it had lost, which was estimated at 30 lbs 
more. 

On the following day, Lieut. Parry was sent on shore 
to examine an iceberg, which was found to be 4169 
yards long, 3869 yards broad, and 51 feet high, being 
aground in 61 fathoms. When they had ascended to 
the top, which was perfectly flat, they found a huge 

* Vol T p. 241 -46. 8vo. ed. 



VOYAGE OF BUCHAN A1«ID FKANKLIN . 4:5 

white bear in quiet possession of the mass, wlio, much 
to their mortification and astonishment, plmiged witli- 
out hesitation into the sea from the edge of the preci- 
pice, which was fifty feet high. 

From careful observation it was found that there was 
no such land in the center of Davis' Strait as James' 
Island, which was laid down in most of the charts. 
Nothing deserving of notice occurred in the subsequent 
course of the vessels past Cape Walsingham to Cum- 
berland Strait. 

The 1st of October having arrived, the limit to which 
his instructions permitted him to remain out, Ross 
shaped his course homeward, and after encountering a 
severe gale off Cape Farewell, arrived in Grimsby 
Roads on the 14th of [N^ovember. As respects the pur- 
pose of Arctic discovery, this voyage may be considered 
almost a blank, none of the important inlets and sounds 
of Bafiin's Bay having been explored, and all that was 
done was to define more clearly the land-bounds of 
Davis' Strait and Bafiin's Bay, if we except th^e valu- 
able magnetic and other observations made by Captain 
Sabine. The commander of the expedition was pro- 
moted to the rank of captain on paying off' the ships in 
Decembei', 1818. 

The account of his voyage, published by Capt. Ross, 
is of tlie most meager and uninteresting description, 
and more than half filled with dry details of the outfit, 
copies of his instructions, of his routine letters and 
orders to his officers, &c. 

BfCHAN Aim FRANEIilN. 

Dorothea and Trent to Pole^ 1818. 

In conjunction with the expedition of Captain John 
Ross, was that sent out to the coast of Spitzbergen, and 
of which Captain Beechy has published a most inter- 
esting account, embellished with some very elegant 
illustrations from his pencil. The charge of it was 
given to Captain D. Buchan, who had, a few years pre^ 
vious''v, conducted a very int^^vesting expedition int(^ 



4:6 PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

the interior of Newfoundland. The lir.st and most ini 
portant object of this expedition was the discovery of 
a passage over or as near the Pole, as might be possible, 
and through Behring's Straits into the Pacific. But it 
was also hoped that it might at the same time be the 
means of improving the geography and hydrography 
of the Arctic regions, of which so little was at that time 
known, and contribute to the advancement of sciesce 
and natural knowledge. The objects to which attention 
was specially pointed in the Admiralty instructions, 
were the variation and inclination of the magnetic nee- 
dle, the intensity of the magnetic force, and how far it 
is affected by atmospherical electricity ; the tempera- 
ture of the air, the dip of the horizon, refraction, height 
of the tides, set and velocity of the currents, depths 
and soundings of the sea. Collections of specimens to 
illustrate the animal, mineral and vegetable Idngdoms, 
were also directed to be made. 
The officers and crew appointed to these vessels were : 

Dorothea^ 382 tons. 

Captain — David Buchan. 

Lieutenant — A. Morell. 

Surgeon — John Duke. 

Assistant Surgeon — W, G. Borland. 

Purser — John Jermain. 

Astronomer — George Fisher. 

Admiralty Mates — C. Palmer and W. J. Dealy. 

Greenland Pilots — P. Bruce, master ; G. Crawfurd, 

mate. 
45 petty officers, seamen, &c. 

Total complement, 55. 

Trent^ 249 tons. 

Lieutenant and Commander — John Franklin. 

Lieutenant — Fred. W. Beechy, (artist.) 

Purser — W. Barrett. 

Assistant Surgeon — A. Gilfillan. 

Admiralty Mates — A. Reid and George Back. 

Greenland Pilots — G. Fife, master ; G. Kirby, vtw <q. 

30 petty officers and seamen. 

Total complement, 8-^ 



VOYAGE OF JiUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. 47 

Having been properly fitted for the service, and ta- 
ken on board tv^o years' provisions, the ships sailed on 
the 25th of April. The Trent had hardly got clear of 
the river before she sprang a leak, and was detained io 
the pori: of Lerwick nearly a fortnight undergoing 
repairs. 

On the 18th of May, the 6hij)S encountered a severe 
gale, and nnder even storm stay -sails were buried gun- 
wal'j deep in the waves. On the 24:th they sighted 
Cherie Island, situated in lat. 74° 33' N., and^long. 17° 
W E., formerly so noted for its fishery, being much 
frequented by walrusses, and for many years the Mus- 
covy Company carried on a lucrative trade by sending 
ships to the island for oil, as many as a thousand ani- 
mals being often captured by the crew of a single ship 
in the course of six or seven hours. 

The progress of the discovery ships through the small 
floes and huge masses of ice wiiich floated in succes- 
sion past, was slow, and these, from their novelty, were 
regarded with peculiar attention from the grotesque 
shapes they assume. The progress of a vessel through 
such a labyrinth of frozen masses is one of the most in- 
teresting sights that offer in the Arctic seas, and kept 
the officers and crew out of their beds till a late hour 
watching the scene. Capt. Beechey, the graphic nar- 
rator of the voyage, thus describes the general impres- 
sion created : — " There was besides, on this occasion, 
an additional motive for remaining up; very few of 
us had ever seen the sun at midnight, and this night 
happening to be particularly clear, his broad red disc, 
curiously distorted by refraction, and sweeping majes- 
tically along the northern horizon, was an object of im- 
posing grandeur, which riveted to the deck some of oui 
crew, who would perhaps have beheld with indifference 
the less imposing effect of the icebergs; or it might have 
been a combination of both these phenomena ; for it 
cannot be denied that the novelty, occasioned by the 
floating masses, was materially heightened by the sin- 
gular effect produced by the very low altitude at which 
%e sun cast Izis fiery bearns over the icy sui^ace of the 



48 PROGKEaS OF ARCnV DISCOVKKY. 

Bea. The rays were too oblique to illunihiate more tli:i!* 
the inequalities of the floes, and falling thus parthul}' 
on the grotesque shapes, either really assumed by the 
ice or distorted by the unequal refraction of the atmos- 
phere, so betrayed the imagination thai it required no 
grea-t exertion of fancy to trace in various directions ar- 
chitectural edifices, grottos and caves here and there 
flittering as if with precious metals. So generally, in- 
eed, was the deception admitted, that, in directing 
the route of the vessel from aloft, we for av/hile deviated 
from our nautical phraseology, and shaped our course 
for a church, a tower, a bridge, or some similar stinicture^ 
instead of for lumps of ice, whicli were usually desig- 
nated by less elegant appellations." 

The increasing difficulties of this ice navigation soon, 
however, directed their attention from romance to the 
reality of their position, the perils of which soon be- 
came alarmingly apparent. 

"The streams of ice, between which we at first pur- 
sued our serpentine course with comparative ease, grad- 
ually became more narrow, and at length so impeded 
the navigation, that it became necessary to run the ships 
against some of these imaginary edifices, in order to turn 
them aside. Even this did not ahvays succeed, as some 
were so substantial and immoveable, that the vessels 
glanced off to the opposite bank of the channel, and 
then became for a time embedded in the ice. Tlius cir- 
cumstanced, a vessel has no other resource than that of 
patiently awaiting the change of position in the ice, of 
which she must take every advantage, or she will settle 
bodily to leeward, and become completely entangled." 

On the 26th the ships sighted the southern promon- 
tory of Spitzbergen, and on the 28th, while plying to 
windward on the western side, were overtaken by a 
violent gale at southwest, in which they parted com- 
pany. The weather was very severe. "The snow fell 
in heavy showers, and several tons weight of ice accu- 
mulated about the sides of the brig, (the Trent,) and form 
ed a complete casing to the planks, which received ac 
additional layer at eacli plunge i ' the vessel. So great 



VOYAGE OF BDCIIAN AND FRANKLIN. 4:9 

indeed, was the accumulation about the bows, that we 
were obliged to cut it away repeatedly with axes to re- 
lieve the bow-sprit from the enormous weight that was 
attached to it ; and the ropes were so thickly covered 
with ice, that it was necessary to beat them with large 
sticks to keep them in a state of readiness for any evo- 
lution that might be rendered necessary, either by the 
a])pearance of ice to leeward, or by a change of wind." 

On the gale abating. Lieutenant Franklin found him- 
self surrounded by the main body of ice in lat. 80° N., 
and had much difficulty in extricating the vessel. — 
Had this formidable body been encountered in thick 
weather, while scudding before a gale of wind, there 
would have been very little chance of saving either the 
vessels or the crews. The Trent fortunately fell in with 
her consort, the Dorothea, previous to entering the ap- 
pointed rendezvous at Magdalena Bay, on the 3d of 
June. This commodious inlet being the first port tliej^ 
had anchored at in the polar regions, possessed many 
objects to engage attention. What particularly struck 
them was the brilliancy of the atmosphere, the peace- 
ful novelty of the scene, and the grandeur of the vari- 
ous objects with which nature has stored these unfre- 
quented regions. -The anchorage is formed by rugged 
mountains, which rise precipitously to the height of 
about 3000 feet. Deep valleys and glens occur between 
the ranges, the greater part of which are either filled 
with immense beds of snow, or with glaciers, sloping 
from the summits of the mountainous margin to the 
very edge of the sea. 

The bay is rendered conspicuous by four huge gla- 
ciers, of which the most remarkable, though the small- 
est in size, is situated 200 feet above the sea, on the 
slope of a mountain. From its peculiar appearance 
this glacier has been termed the Hanging Iceberg. 

Its position is such that it seems as if a very small 
matter would detach it from the mountain, and precip- 
itate it into the sea. And, indeed, large portions of its 
front do occasionally break away and fall with head- 
long impetuosity upon the beach, to the great hazard 
4 



50 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

of any boat that may cliance to be near. The largest 
of these glaciers occupies the head of the bay, and, 
according to Captain Beechey's account, extends from 
two to three miles inland. Numerous large rents in its 
upper surface have caused it to bear a resemblance to 
the ruts left by a wagon ; hence it was named by the 
voyagers the " Wagon Way." The frontage of this gla- 
cier presents a perpendicular surface of 300 feet in 
height, by 7000 feet in length. Mountain masses — 

" Whose blocks of sappliire seem to mortal eye 
Hewn from ceralean quames in the sky, 
With glacier battlements that crowd the spheres, 
The slow creation of six thousand years. 
Amidst immensity they tower sublime, 
Winter's eternal palace, built by Time." 

At the head of the bay there is a high pyramidal 
mountain of granite, termed Rotge Hill, 'from the myr- 
iads of small birds of that name which frequent its 
base, and appear to prefer its environs to every other 
part of the harbor. " They are so numerous that we 
have frequently seen an uninterrupted line of them ex- 
tending full half w^ay over the bay, or to a distance of 
more than three miles, and so close together that thirty 
have fallen at one shot. This living column, on an aver- 
age, might have been about six yards broad, and as 
many deep ; so that, allowing sixteen birds to a cubic 
yard, there must have been nearly four millions of birds 
on the wing at one time. The nural)er I have given cer- 
tainly seems large ; yet when it is told that the little 
rotges rise in such numbers as completely to darken 
the air, and that their chorus is distinctly audible at a 
distance of four miles, the estimate will not be thought 
to bear any reduction." 

One of their earliest excursions in this bay was an 
attempt to ascend the peak of Rotge Hill, " upon which," 
says Captain Beechey, " may now, perhaps, be seen at 
the height of about 2000 feet, a staff that ojice carried 
a red flag, which was planted there to mark the great- 
est height we were able to attain, partly in consequence 
of the steepness of the ascent, but mainly on acconni 
of the detached masses of rock wh'^Ji a very siighj 



VOYAGE OF BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. 51 

matter would displace and hurl down the precipitous 
declivity, to the utter destruction of him who depended 
upon their support, or who might happen to be in 
their path below. The latter part of our ascent was, 
indeed, much against our inclination ; but we found it 
impossible to d escend by the way we had come up, and 
were compelled to gain a ledge, which promised the 
only secure resting-place ^e could find at that height. 
This we were able to effect by sticking the tomahawks 
with which we were provided, into crevices in the rock, 
as a support for our feet ; and some of these instru- 
ments we were obliged to leave where they were driven, 
in consequence of the danger that attended their 
recovery." During the vessel's detention in this har- 
bor, the bay and anchorage were completely surveyed. 

When the first party rowed into this bay, it was in 
quiet possession of herds of walruses, who were so un- 
accustomed to the sight of a boat that they assembled 
about her, apparently highly incensed at the intrusion, 
and swam toward her as though they would have torn 
the planks asunder with their tusks. Their hides were 
so tough that nothing but a bayonet would pierce them. 
The wounds that were inflicted only served to increase 
fclieir rage, and it was with much difficulty they were 
kept off with fire-arms. Subsequently the boats went 
better prepared and more strongly supported, and 
many of these monsters were killed ; some were four- 
teen feet in length, and nine feet girth, and of such 
prodigious weight, that the boat's crew could scarcely 
turn them. 

The ships had not been many days at their anchor- 
age when they were truly astonished at the sight of a 
strange boat pulling toward the ships, which was found 
to belong to some Bussian adventurers, who were en- 
sraged in the collection of peltry and morse' teeth. This 
is the last remaining establishment at Spitzbergen still 
upheld by the merchants of Archangel. 

Although equally surprised at the sight of the ves- 
sels, the boat's crew took courage, and after a careful 
scrutiny, went on board the Dorothea; Captain Buchan 



6^ Progress of arctic r)lscoVERY 

gave them a kind reception, and supplied them with 
whatever they wanted ; in retm*n for which they sent 
on board, the following day, a side of venison in excel- 
lent condition. Wishing to gain some fm'ther infoi-ma- 
tion of these people, an officer accompanied them to 
their dwelling at the head of a small cove, about four 
miles distant from the bay, where he found a comfort> 
able wooden hut, well lined with moss, and stored with 
/enison, wild ducks, &c. 

It is related by Captain Beechey that it was with ex- 
treme pleasure they noticed in this retired spot, proba- 
bly the most northern and most desolate habitation of 
our globe, a spirit of gratitude and devotion to the Al- 
mighty rarely exercised in civilized countries. " On 
landing from the boat and approaching their residence, 
these people knelt upon its threshold, and offered up a 
prayer with fervor and evident sincerity. The exact 
nature of the prayer we did not learn, but it was no 
doubt one of thanksgiving, and we concluded it was a 
custom which these recluses were in the habit of observ- 
ing on their safe return to their habitation. It may, at 
alfevents, be regarded as an instance of the beneficial 
effects which seclusion from the busy world, and a con- 
templation of the works of nature, almost invariably 
produce upon the hearts of even the most uneducated 
part of mankind." 

. On the 7th of June the expedition left the anchorage 
to renew the examination of the ice, and after steering 
a few leagues to the northward, found it precisely in 
the same state as it had been left on the 2d. In spite 
of all their endeavors, by towing and otherwise, the 
vessels were driven in a calm by the heavy swell into 
the packed ice, and the increasing peril of their situa- 
tion may be imagined from the following graphic de- 
ficription : — 

" The pieces at the edge of the pack were at one time 
wliolly immersed in the sea, and at tlie next raised far 
a])ove their natural line of flotation, wliile those further 
^..., being more extciisivov were alternately depressed oi 



Voyage ot' buoiian an!) FBANitLiisf* 53 

elevated at either extremity as the advancing wave 
forced its. way along. 

"The see-saw motion which was thus produced was 
alarming, not merely in appearance, but in fact, and 
must have proved fatal to any vessel that had encoun- 
tered it; as floes of ice, several yards in thickness, were 
continually crashing and breaking in pieces, and the 
sea for miles was covered with fragments ground so 
small that they actually formed a thick, pasty sub- 
stance — in nautical language termed, ''hr ash ice' — 
which extended to the depth of live feet. Amidst this 
giddy element, our whole attention was occupied in en- 
deavoring to place the bow of the vessel, the strongest 
part of her frame, in the direction of the most formida- 
ble pieces of ice — a maneuver which, though likely to 
be attended with the loss of the bowsprit, was yet prefer- 
able to encountering the still greater risk of having the 
broadside of the vessel in contact with it ; for this would 
have subjected her to the chance of dipping her gun- 
wale under the floes as she rolled, an accident which, 
had it occurred, would either have laid open her side, 
or have overset the vessel at once. * In either case, the 
event would probably have proved fatal to all on board, 
as it would have been next to impossible to rescue any 
person from the confused moving mass of brash ice 
which covered the sea in every direction." 

The attention of the seamen was in some degree di- 
verted from the contemplation of this " scene * of diffi- 
culty by the necessity of employing all hands at the 
pump, the leak having gained upon them. But, for- 
tunately, toward morning, they got quite clear of the 
ice. 

Steering to the westward to reconnoiter, they fell in, 
m longitude 4° 30' E., with several whale ships, and 
were informed by them that the ice was quite compact 
to the westward, and that fifteen vessels were beset in 
it. Proceeding to the northward, the ships passed, on 
the 11th of June, Cloven Cliff, a remarkable isolated 
rock, whicli marks tlie northwestern boundary of Spitz- 
bergen, and steered along an intricate channel betwAen 



71 



64 I»EOGRESS OP AUCTIC BlSCOVERr. 

the land and ice ; but, next morning, their further ad- 
vance was stopped, and the channel by which the ves- 
Bels had entered became so completely closed up as to 
preclude the possibility also of retreating. Lieutenant 
Beechey proceeds to state — 

" The ice soon began to press heavily upon us, and, 
to add to our difficulties, we found the water so shallow 
that the rocks were plainly discovered under the bot- 
toms of the ships. It was impossible, however, by any 
exertion on our part, to improve the situations of the 
vessels. They were as firmly fixed in the ice as if they 
had formed part of the pack, and we could only hope 
that the current would not drift them into still shallow^er 
water, and damage them against the ground." 

The ships were here hemmed in in almost the same 
position where Baffin, Hudson, Poole, Captain Phipps, 
and all the early voyagers to this quarter had been 
; lopped. 

As the tide turned, the pieces of ice immediately 
around the ships began to separate, and some of them 
to twist round with a loud grinding noise, urging the 
vessels, which were less than a mile from the land, still 
nearer and nearer to the beach. 

By great exertions the ships were hauled into small 
bays in the fioe, and secured there by ropes fixed to the 
ice by means of large iron hooks, called ice anchors. 
Shifting the ships from one part of this floe to the other, 
they remained attached to the ice thirteen days. As 
this change of position could only be effected by main 
force, the crew were so constantly engaged in this har- 
assing duty, that their time was divided almost entirely 
between the windlass and the pump, until the men at 
length became so fatigued that the sick-list was seriously 
augmented. During this period, however, the situation 
of the leak was fortunately discovered, and the damage 
repaired. 

An officer and a party of men who left the Dorothea 
to pay a visit to the shore, about three or four milee 
distant, lost themselves in the fog and snow, and wan- 
dered about for sixteen liours, until, (juite overcome 



VOYAGK OF BUOHAi?^ AND FEANKLIN. . 55 

with wet, cold and fatigue, they sat down in a state of 
despondency, upon a piece of ice, determined to submit 
their fate to Providence, Their troubles are thus told : 

"To travel over ragged pieces of ice, upon which 
there were two feet of snow, and often more, springing 
from one slippery piece to the other, or, when the chan- 
nels between them were too wide for this purpose, fer- 
rying themselves upon detached fragments, w^as a work 
which it required no ordinary exertion to execute. 

" Some fell into the water, and were with difficulty 
preserved from drowning by their companions ; while 
others, afraid to make any hazardous attempt whatever, 
were left upon pieces of ice, and drifted about at the 
mercy of the winds and tides. Foreseeing the proba- 
bility of a separation, they took the first opportunity 
of dividing, in equal shares, the small quantity of pro- 
vision which they had remaining, as also their stock of 
powder and ammunition. They also took it in turns to 
fire muskets, in the hope of being heard from the ships." 

The reports of the fire-arms were heard by their ship- 
mates, and Messrs. Fife and Kirby, the Greenland ice- 
masters, ventured out with ])oles and lines to their 
assistance, and had the good fortune to fall in vdth the 
party, and bring them safely on board, after eighteen 
hours' absence. They determined in future to rest sat- 
isfied with the view of the shore which w^as afforded 
them from the ship, having not the slightest desire to 
attempt to approach it again by means of the ice. 

The pressure of the ice against the vessels now be- 
came very great. 

"At one time, when the Trent appeared to be so closely 
wedged up that it did not seem possible for her to be 
moved, she was suddenly lifted four feet by an enor- 
mous mass of ice getting under her keel ; at another, 
the fragments of the crumbling floe were piled up 
und^r the bows, to the great danger of the bowsprit. 

"The Dorothea was in no less imminent danger, es- 
pecially from the point of a floe, which came in contact 
with her side, where it remained a short time, and then 
glanced off, and became checkerl by the field to whicb 



56 PROGRESS OF AKOTIC DISCO'VERY. 

she was moored. The enormous pressure to which the 
ship had been subjected was now apparent by the field 
being rent^ and its point broken into fragments, which 
were speedily heaped up in a pyramid, tniixy-five feet 
in height, upon the very summit of which there ap- 
peared a huge mass, bearing the impression of the 
planks and bolts of the vessel's bottom." 

Availing themselves of a break in the ice, the ships 
were moved to an anchorage between the islands con- 
tiguous to the Cloven Cliff ; and on the 28th of June, 
anchored in fifteen fathoms water, near Yogel Sang. 
On the islands they found plenty of game, and eidei'- 
ducks. 

The island of Yogel Sang alone supplied the crews 
with forty reindeer, which were in such high condition 
that the fat upon the loins of some measured from four 
to six inches, and a carcass, ready for being dressed, 
weighed 285 pounds. Later in the season,- the deet 
were, however, so lean that it was rare to meet with an}' 
fat upon them at all. 

On the 6th of" July, finding the ice had been driven 
to the northward, the ships again put to sea, and Capt. 
Buchan determined to prove, by a desperate effort, 
what advance it was possible to make by dragging the 
vessels through the ice whenever the smallest opening 
occurred. This laborious experiment was performed 
by fixing large ropes to iron hooks driven into the ice, 
and by heaving upon them with the windlass, a party 
removing obstructions in the channel with saws. But 
in spite of all their exertions, the most northerly posi- 
tion attained was 80° 37' IS". Although fastened to tlic 
ice, the ships were now drifted bodily to the southward 
by the prevailing current. They were also much in- 
Mired by the pressure of hummocks and fields of ice. 

On the 10th of July, Captain Beechey tells us, tlie 
Trent sustained a squeeze which made her rise 'four 
feet, and heel over five streaks ; and on the 15tli and 
16t]i, both vessels suffered considerable damasre. "On 
tliat occasion," he says, " we observed a field fifteen 
feet in thickness ])reak n]^, and the pieces pile upon 



VOYA^ft Ot' BtJCHAN AND PRAKKMN. 5i 

each other to a great height, until t^ej upset, when they 
rolled over with a tremendous crash. The ice near the 
ships was piled up above their bulwarks. Fortunately, 
the vessels rose to the pressure, or they must have had 
their sides forced in. The Trent received her greatest 
damage upon the quarters, and was so twisted that the 
doors of all the cabins flew open, and the panels oi 
some started in the frames, while her false stern-post 
was moved three inches, and her timbers cracked to a 
most serious extent. The Dorothea suffered still more : 
some of her beams were sprung, and two planks on the 
lower deck were split fore and aft, and doubled up, and 
she otherwise sustained serious injury in her hull. It 
was in vain that we attempted any relief ; our puny 
efforts were not even felt, though continued for eight 
hours with unabated zeal ; and it was not until the tide 
changed that the smallest effect was produced. When, 
however, that occurred, the vessels righted and settled 
in the water to their proper draught." 

From the 12th to the 19th, they were closely beset 
with ice. For nine successive days following this the 
crews were occupied, night and day, in endeavoring to 
extricate the ships, and regain the open sea. Thinking 
he had given the ice a fair trial here, the commander 
determined upon examining its condition toward the 
eastern coast of Greenland, and in the event of finding 
it equally impenetrable there, to proceed round the 
south cape of Spitzbergen, and make an attempt be- 
tween that island and K ova Zembla. 

On the 30th of July, a sudden gale came on, and 
brought down the main body of the ice upon them, so 
that the ships were in such imminent danger that their 
only means of safety was to take refage among it — a 
practice which has been resorted to by whalers in ex- 
treme cases — as their only chance of escaping destruc- 
tion. 

The following is a description of the preparation 
made to withstand the terrible encounter, and the hair- 
breadth escape from the dangers : — 

"In order to avert the e^^ofg. of this as much as pos 
3 



58 PROGKESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

sible, a cable was cut up into thirty-feet lengths, ana 
these, with plates of iron four feet square, which had 
been supplied to us as fenders, together with somo 
walrus' hides, were hung round the vessels, especially 
about the bows. The masts, at the same time, were se- 
cured with additional ropes, and the hatches were bat- 
tened and nailed down. By the time these precautions 
had been taken, our approach to the breakers only left 
us the alternative of either permitting the ships to be 
drifted broadside against the ice, and so to take their 
chance, or of endeavoring to force fairly into, it by put- 
ting before the wind. At length, the hopeless state of 
a vessel placed broadside against so formidable a body 
becarae apparent to all, and we resolved to attempt 
the latter expedient." 

Eagerly, but in vain, was the general line of the pack 
scanned, to find one place more open than the other. 
All parts appeared to be equally impenetrable, and to 
present one unbroken line of furious breakers, in which 
immense pieces of ice were heaving and subsiding with 
the waves, and dashing together with a violence which 
nothing apparently but a solid body could withstand, 
occasioning such a noise that it was with the greatest 
difficulty the officers could make their orders heard by 
the crew. 

The fearful aspect of this appalling scene is thu? 
sketched by Captain Beechey : — 

" 'No language, I am convinced, can convey an ade- 
quate idea of the teri-ific grandeur of the effect now pro- 
duced by the collision of the ice and the tempestuoua{^ 
ocean. The sea, violently agitated and rolling its moun- 
tainous waves against an opposing body, is at all times] 
a sublime and awful sight ; but when, in addition, it 
encounters immense masses, which it has set in motioi 
with a violence equal to its own, its effect is prodigi- 
ously increased. At one moment it bursts upon thes( 
icy fragments and buries them many feet beneath itfi 
wave, and the next, as the buoyancy of the depresses 
body struggles for reascendancy, the water rushes ii 
foaming cataracts over its edges ; wliile every indi- 



VOYAGE OF BUCHAN AlN'D FEANKLIN. 50 

xridual mass, rocking and laboring in its bed, grinds 
against, and contends with its opponent, until one is 
either split with the shock or upheaved upon the ;iur- 
face of the other. Nor is this collision confined to any 
particular spot ; it is going on as far as the sight can 
reach ; and when from this convulsive scene below, the 
eye is turned to the extraordinary appearance of the 
blink in the sky above, where the unnatural clear- 
ness of a calm and silvery atmosphere presents itself, 
bounded by a dark, hard line of stormy clouds, such as 
at this moment lowered over our masts, as if to mark 
the confines within which the efforts of man would be 
of no avail. The reader may imagine the sensation of 
awe which must accompany that of grandeur in the 
mind of the beholder." 

"If ever," continues the narrator, "the fortitude of 
seamen was fairly tried, it was assuredly not less so on 
this occasion ; and I will not conceal the pride I felt in 
witnessing the bold and decisive tone in which the 
orders were issued by the commander (the present 
Captain Sir John Franklin) of our little vessel, and the 
promptitude and steadiness with which they were exe- 
cuted by the crew." 

As the laboring vessel flew before the gale, she soon 
neared the scene of danger. 

" Each person instinctively secured his own hold, 
and with his eyes fixed upon the masts, awaited in 
breathless anxiety the moment of concussion. 

" It soon arrived, — the brig, (Trent) cutting her way 
through the light ice, came in violent contact with the 
main body. In an instant we all lost our footing ; the 
masts bent with the impetus, and the cracking timbers 
n'om below bespoke a pressure which was calculated to 
awaken our serious apprehensions. The vessel stag- 
gered under the shock, and for a moment seemed to 
recoil ; but the next wave, curling up under her coun- 
ter, drove he^ about her own length within the margin 
of the ice, where she gave one roll, and was immedi- 
ately thrown broadside to the wind by the succeeding 
wave, which beat furiously against her st('rn, and 

4 C 



60 riiOGiiEas of Aiicrno discovkky. 

brought her lee-side in contact with the main body, 
leaving her weather-side exposed at the same time to 
a piece of ice about twice her own dimensions. This 
untbrtmiate occurrence prevented the vessel penetrat- 
ing sufficiently far into the ice to escape the effect of 
the gale, and placed her in a situation where she wdn 
assailed on all sides by battering-rams, if I may use 
the expression, every one of whicJi contested the small 
space which she occupied, and dealt such unrelenting 
blows, that there appeared to be scarcely any possibil- 
ity of saving her from foundering. Literally tossed 
from piece to piece, we had nothing left but patiently 
to abide the issue ; for we could scarcely keep our feet, 
much less render any assistance to the vessel. The mo- 
tion, indeed, was so great, that the ship's bell, which, in 
the heaviest gale of wind, had never struck of itself, 
now tolled so continually, that it was ordered to be 
muffled, for the purpose of escaping the unpleasant as 
sociation it was calculated to produce. 

" In anticipation of the worst, we determined to at 
tempt placing the launch upon the ice under the lee, 
and hurried into her such provisions and stores as could 
at the moment be got at. Serious doubts were reason- 
ably entertained of the boat being able to live among 
the confused mass by which we were Encompassed; yet 
as this appeared to be our only refuge, we clung to it 
with all the eagerness of a last resource." 

From the injury the vessel repeatedly received, it 
became very evident that if subjected to this concus- 
sion for any time, she could not hold together long ; the 
only chance of escape, therefore, appeared to depend 
upon getting before the wind, and penetrating further 
into the ice. 

To effect this with any probability of success, it be- 
came necessary to set more head-sail, though at the 
risk of the masts, already tottering with the pressure 
of that which was spread. By the expertness of the 
seamen, more sail was spread, and under this additional 
pressure of canvass, the ship came into the desired 
position, and with the aid of an enormous mass undei* 



V'OVAGE OF iiUOHAT!^ AJNU FSANJSJLIJN. (il 

the stern, she split a small field of ice, fourteen feet in 
thickness, which had hitherto impeded her progress, 
and effected a passage for herself between the pieces. 

In this improved position, by carefully placing the 
protecting fenders between the ice and the ship's sides, 
the strokes were much diminished, and she managed 
to weather out the gale, but lost sight of her consort in 
the clouds of spray which were tossed about, and the 
huge intervening masses of ice among which they were 
embayed. On the gale moderating, the sliips were for- 
tunately got once more into an open sea, although both 
disabled, and one at least, the Dorothea, which had 
sustained the heavy shocks, in a foundering condition. 
For the main object of the expedition they were now 
useless, and, both being in a leaky state, they bore up 
for Fair Haven, in Spitzbergen. In approaching the 
anchorage in South Gat, the Trent bounded over a 
sunken rock, and struck hard, but this, after their re- 
cent danger, was thought comparatively light of. 

On examining the hulls of the vessels, it was found 
they had sustained frightful injuries. The intermediate 
lining of felt between the timbers and planks seems, to 
have aided greatly in enabling the vessels to sustain 
the repeated powerful shocks they had encountered. 
Upon consulting with his officers. Captain Buchan came 
to the opinion that the most prudent course, was to 
patch up the vessels for their return voyage. Lieuten- 
ant Franklin preferred an urgent request that he might 
be allowed to proceed in his own vessel upon the inter- 
esting service still unexecuted ; but this could not l)e 
complied with, in consequence of the hazard to the 
crew of proceeding home singly in a vessel so shat- 
tered and unsafe as the Dorothea. After refitting, they 
put to sea at the end of August, and reached England 
by the middle of October. 

Frai^bxin's First Laito Expedition, 1819-21. 

In 1819, on the recommendation of the Lords of the 
A^drairalty, Capt. Franklin was appointed to command 



62 '^KOGKKSS OF AKCTJO DISCOVERT. 

an over] and expedition from Hudson's Bay to the north- 
ern shores of America, for the purpose of deterniiniug 
the latitudes and longitudes, and exploring the coast of 
the continent eastward from the Coppermine River. Dr. 
John Richardson, R. N., and two Admiralty Midship- 
men, Mr. George Back, (who had been out on the polar 
expedition, in the previous year, in PI. M. S. Trent,) and 
Mr. Robert Hood, were placed under his orders. Pre- 
vious to his dej)arture from London, Capt. Franklin ob- 
tained all the information and advice possible from Sir 
Alex. Mackenzie, one of the only two persons who had 
yet explored those shores. On the 23d of May, the party 
embarked at Gravesend, in the Prince of Wales, belong- 
ing to the Hudson's Bay Company, which immediately 
got under weigh in company with her consorts, the Ed- 
dystone and Wear. Mr. Back, who was left on shore by 
accident in Yarmouth, succeeded in catching the ship at 
Stromness. On the ith of x\ugust, in lat. 59° 58' N.. 
and long. 59° 53' W., they first fell in with large icebergs. 
On the following day, the height of one was ascertained 
to be 149 feet. After a stormy and perilous voyage they 
reached the anchorage at York Flats on the 30th of 
August. 

On the 9th of September, Capt. Franklin and his party 
left York Factory in a boat by the way of the rivers and 
lakes for Cumberland House, another of the Company's 
posts, which they reached on the 22d of October. 

On the 19th of January, Franklin set out in company 
with Mr. Back and a seaman named Hepburn, with pro- 
visions for fifteen days, stowed in two sledges, on their 
journey to Fort Chipewyan. Dr. Richardson, Mr. Hood 
and Mr. Conolly accompanied them a short distance. 
After touching at different posts of the Company, they 
reached their destination safely on the 26th of March, 
after a winter's journey of 857 miles. The greatest diffi- 
culty experienced by tlie travelers was the labor of walk- 
ing in snow shoes, a weight of between two and three 
pounds being constantly attached to galled feet and 
swelled ankles. 

On the 13th of July, they were joined by Dr. Richard- 



FRAKKL!]vj'S FIKST LAND KXPEDITION. 6h 

son and Mr. Hood, who had made a very expeditious 
journey from Cumheriand House ; they had only one 
day's provisions left, the pemmican they had received at 
the posts being so mouldy that they were obliged to leave 
it behind . Arrangements were now made for their jour- 
ney northward. Sixteen Canadian voyageurs were en- 
gaged, and a Chipewyan woman and two interpreterb 
were to be taken on from Great Slave Lake. The whole 
stock of provisions they could obtain before starting was 
only sufficient for one day's supply, exclusive of two bar- 
rels of flour, three cases of preserved meats, some choco- 
late, arrow-root and portable soup, which had been 
brought from England, and were kept as a reserve for the 
journey to the coast in the following season; seventy 
pounda of deer's flesh and a little barley were all that 
the Company's officers could give them. The provisions 
were distributed among tliree canoes, and the party set 
off in good spirits on the 18th of July. They had to 
make an inroad very soon on their preserved meats, for 
they were very unfortunate in their fishing. On the 
24th of July, however, they were successful in shooting 
a buflklo in the Salt River, after giving him fourteen 
balls. At Moose Deer Island they got supplies from 
the Hudson's Bay and IsTorth West Companies' officers, 
and on the 27th set out again on their journey, reaching 
Fort Providence by the 29th. 

Shortly after they had an interview with a celebrated 
and influential Indian chief, named Akaitcho, who was 
to furnish them with guides. Another Canadian voya- 
geur was there engaged, and the party now consisted of 
the officers already named, Mr. Fred. Wentzel, clerk of 
the IS". W. Fur Company, who joined them here, John 
Hepburn, the English seaman, seventeen Canadian voy- 
ageurs, (one of whom, named Michel, was an Iroquois,) 
and three Indian interpreters, besides the wives of three 
of the voyageurs who had been brought on for the pur- 
pose of making clothes and shoes for the men at the 
v.'inter estr.blishment. The whole number were twenty- 
nine, exclusive of three children. I give the list of those 
whose names occur most frequently in the narrative: 



64 PKOGKESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

J. B. Belanger, Peltier, Solomon Belanger, Saniandre, 
Benoit, Perrault, Antonio Foutano, Beauparlant, Yail- 
lant, Credit, Adam St. Germain, interpreter; Augustiis 
and Junius, Esquimaux interpreters. They Lad provis- 
ions for ten days' consum2)tion, besides a little cliocolate 
and tea, viz : two casks of flour, 200 dried reindeer 
tongues, some dried moose meat, portable soup, and a 
little arrow-root. A small extra canoe was provided for 
the women, and the journey for the Coppermine River 
was commenced on the 2d of August. The party met 
with many hardships — were placed on short diet — aixl 
some of the Canadians broke out into 0])en rebellion, 
refusing to proceed farther. However, they were at last 
calmed, and arrived on the 20th of August at Fort En- 
terprise, on Winter Lake, which, by the advice of their 
Indian guides, they determined on making their winter 
quarters. The total length of the voyage from Chipe- 
wyan was 552 miles; and after leaving Fort Providence, 
they had 21 miles of portage to pass over. As the men 
had to traverse each portage with a load of 180 lbs., 
and return three times light, they walked, in the whole, 
upward of 150 miles. 

In consequence of the refusal of Akaitcho and his 
pjirty of Indians to guide and accompany them to the 
sea, iDecause, as they ailed ged, of the approach of win- 
ter, and the imminent danger. Captain Franklin was 
obliged to abandon proceeding that season down the 
river, and contented himself with dispatching, on the 
29th, Mr. Back and Mr. Hood, in a light canoe, with 
St. Germain as interpreter, eight Canadians, and one 
Indian, furnished with eight days' provisions — all that 
could be spared. 

They returned on the 10th of September, after hav 
ing reached and coasted Point Lake. In the mean time, 
Franklin and Richardson, accompanied by J. Hepburn 
and two Indians, also made a pedestrian excursion tow- 
ard the same quarter, leaving on the 9th of September. 
and returning on the fourteenth. The whole party 
spent a long winter of ten months at Fort Enterprise 
depending upon the fish they could catch, and the sue 
cess of their Inrliui hunters, fur foo<.l, 



FKANKLIN's FIKST land EXrEDlTION. 65 

On the 6th of October, the officers quitted their tents 
for a good loff house which had been built. The clay 
with which the walls and roof were plastered, had to 
be tempered before the fire with water, and froze as it 
was daubed on ; but afterward cracked in such a man- 
ner, as to admit the wind from every quarter. Still 
the new abode, with a good fire of fagots in the capa- 
cious clay-built chimney, was considered quite comfort- 
able when compared with the chilly tents. 

The reindeer are found on the banks of the Copper- 
mine River early in May, as they then go to the sea- 
coast to bring forth their young. They usually retire 
from the coast in July and August, rut in October, and 
shelter themselves in the woods during winter. Before 
the middle of October, the carcasses of one hundred 
deer had been secured in their store-house, together with 
one thousand pounds of suet, and some dried meat ; 
and eighty deer were stowed away at various distances 
from their house, en cache. This placing provisions 
"en cache," is merely burying and protecting it from 
wolves and other depredators, by heavy loads of wood 
or stone. 

On the 18th of October, Mr. Back and Mr. Wentzel, 
accompanied by two Canadian voyageurs, two Indians 
and their wives, set out for Fort Providence to make 
the necessary arrangements for transporting the stores 
they expected from Cumberland House, and to see if 
some further supplies might not be obtained from the 
establishments on Sla^e Lake. Dispatches for Eng- 
land were also forwarded by them, detailing the pro- 
gress of the expedition up to this date. By the end of 
the month the men had also completed a house for 
themselves, 34 feet by 18. On the 26th of October, 
Akaitcho, and his Indian party of hunters, amounting 
with women and children to forty souls, came in, owing 
to the deer having migrated southward. This added 
to the daily number to be provided for, and by this time 
their ammunition was nearly expended. 

The fishing failed as the weather became more severe, 
and was given up on the 5th of November. About 



66 PROGRESS OF AKCTIO DISGOVEKY. 

1200 white fish, of from two to three pounds, had been 
procured during the season. The fish froze as they 
were taken from the nets, becoming in a short time a 
solid mass of ice, so that a blow or two of the hatchet 
would easily split them open, when the intestines might 
be removed in one lump. If thawed before the fire, 
even after being frozen for nearly tw^o days, the fish 
would recover their animation. 

On the 23d of November, they were gratified by the 
appearance of one of the Canadian voyageurs who had 
set out with Mr. Back. His locks were matted with 
snow, and he was so encrusted with ice from head to 
foot, that they could scarcely recognize him. He re- 
ported tliat they had had a tedious and fatiguing jour- 
ney to Fort Providence, and for some days were desti- 
tute of provisions. Letters were brought from England 
to the preceding April, and quickly w^as the packet 
thawed to get at the contents. The newspapers con- 
veyed the intelligence of the death of George IH. The 
advices as to the expected stores were disheartening ; 
of ten bales of ninety pounds each, five had been 1 3ft 
by some mismanagement at the Grand Rapid on t\w 
Sattkatchaw^an. On the 28th of I^^ovember, St. Ger- 
main the interpreter, with eight Canadian voyageui's, 
and four Indian hunters, were sent ofi^ to bring up the 
stores from Fort Providence. 

On the 10th of December, Franklin managed to get 
rid of Akaitcho and his Indian party, by representing 
to them the imj)ossibility of maintaining them. The 
leader, however, left them his mother and two female 
attendants; and old Kaskarrah, the guide, with his wife 
and daughter, remained behind. This daughter, who 
was designated " Green Stockings," from her dress, was 
considered a great beauty by her tribe, and although 
but sixteen, had belonged successively to two husbands, 
and would probably have been the wife of many more, 
if her mother had not required her services as a nurse. 

Mr. Hood took a good likeness of the young laay, 
but her mother was somewhat averse to her sitting for 
it, fearing tliat " her daughter's likeness would induce 



PEANia.lN\s FruST LAND EXPEDITION. 6? 

I 

clie Great Chief who resiaed in England to send for the 
original ! " 

The diet of the party in their winter abode consisted 
almost entirely of reindeer meat, varied twice a week 
by fish, and occasionally by a little flour, but they had 
no vegetables of any kind. On Sunday morning they 
had a cup of chocolate ; but. their greatest luxury was 
tea, which they regularly had twice a day, although 
without sugar. Candles were formed of reindeer tat 
and strips of cotton shirts; and Hepburn acquired con- 
siderable skill in the manufacture of soap from the wood 
ashes, fat and salt. The stores were anxiously looked 
for, and it was hoped they would have arrived by 'New 
Year's Day, (1821,) so as to have kept the festival. As 
it was, they could only receive a little flour and fat, both 
of which were considered great luxuries. 

On the 15th, seven of the men arrived with two kegs 
of rum, one barrel of powder, sixty pounds of ball, two 
rolls of tobacco, and some clothing. 

" They had been twenty-one days on their march from 
Slave Lake, and the labor they underwent was sufli- 
ciently evinced by their sledge collars having worn oat 
tlie shoulders of their coats. Their loads weighed from 
sixty to ninety pounds each, exclusive of their bedding 
and provisions, which at starting must have been at least 
as much more. We were much rejoiced at their arrival, 
and proceeded forthwith to pierce the spirit cask, and 
issue to each of the household the portion of rum which 
had been promised on the first day of the year. The 
spirits, which were proof, were frozen; but after stand- 
ing at the fire for some time they flowed out, of the 
consistence of honey. The temperature of the liquid, 
even in this state, was so low as instantly to convert 
into ice the moisture which condensed on the surface of 
the dram-glass. The fingers also adhej:'ed to the glass, 
and would doubtless have been speedily frozen had they 
been kept in contact with it ; yet each of the voyageurs 
swallowed his dram without experiencing the slightest 
inconvenience, or complaining of toothache." 

It appeared that the Caiiadians had tapped the ruiu 



68 PUOOitESS OF AECTtCi DlSCOV^EfeY. 

cask on their journey, and helped themselves rathei 
freely. 

On the 27tn, Mr. Wentzel and St. Germain arrived, 
with two Esrjuimanx interpreters who had been engaged, 
possessed of enphonious names, representing the belly 
and the ear, but which had been Anglicised into Au- 
gustus and Junius, being the months they had respec- 
tively arrived at Fort Churchill. The former spoke 
English. They brouglit four dogs with them, which 
proved of great use during the season in drawing in 
wood for fael. 

Mr. Back, at this time, the 24th of December, had 
gone on to Chipewyan to procure stores. On the 12th 
of February, another party of six men was sent to Fort 
Providence to bring up tlie remaining supplies, and 
these returned on the 5th of March. Many of the caches 
of meat which had been buried early in the winter were 
found destroyed by the wolves ; and some of these ani 
mals prowled nightly al^out the dwellings, even ventur 
ing upon the roof of their kitchen. The rations were 
reduced from eight to the short allowance of five ounces 
of animal food per day. 

On the 17th of March, Mr. Back returned from Fort 
Ghipewyan, after an absence of nearly five months, 
during which he had performed a journey on foot of 
more than eleven hundred miles on snow shoes, with 
only the slight shelter at night of a blanket and a deer 
skin, with the thermometer fi*equently at 40° and once 
at 57°, and very often passing several days without 
food. 

Some very interesting traits of generosity on the part 
of the Indians are recorded by Mr. Back. Often they 
gave up and would not taste of fish or birds which they 
caught, with the touching remark, " We are accustomed 
to starvation, and you are not." 

Such passages as the following often occur in his 
narrative : — " One of our men caught a fish, which, with 
Jhe assistance of some weed scraped from the rocks. 
{tripe de roche) which forms a glutinous substance, made 
•18 a toleral)le sup] '>^' : it was not of the most choice kind, 



FEANKLIN S IriRST LAKD ES:PEr)TTlON. 69 

yet good enough for hungry men. While we were eat- 
ing it, I perceived one of the women busily employed 
scraping an old skin, the contents of which her husband 
presented us with. They consisted of pounded meat, 
fat, and a greater proportion of Indian's and deer's hair 
than either ; and, though such a mixture may not appear 
very alluring to an English stomach, it was thought a 
great luxury after three days' privation in these cheer- 
less regions of America." 

To return to the proceedings of Fort Enterprise. On 
the 23d of March, the last of the winter's stock of deer's 
me-at was expended, and the party were compelled to 
consume a little pounded meat, which had been saved 
for making pemmican. The nets scarcely produced any 
fish, and their meals, which had hitherto been scanty 
enough, were now restricted to one in the day. 

The poor Indian families about the house, consisting 
principally of sick and infirm women and children, suf- 
fered even more privation. They cleared ^way the 
snow on the site of the Autumn encampment to look for 
bones, deer's feet, bits of hide, and other oflTal. " When 
(says Franklin) we beheld them gnawing the pieces of 
hide, and pounding the bones for the purpose of extract- 
ing some nourishment from them by boiling, we regret- 
ted our inability to relieve them, but little thought that 
we should ourselves be afterward driven to the neces- 
sity of eagerly collecting these same bones, a second 
time from the dung-hill." 

On the 4th of June, 1821, a first party set off from 
the winter quarters for Point Lake, and the Coppermine 
River, under the charge of Dr. Richardson, consisting, 
in all, voyageurs and Indians, of twenty-three, exclusive 
of children. Each of the men carried about 80 lbs., be- 
sides his own personal baggage, weighing nearly as 
much more. Some of the party dragged their loads on 
sledges, others preferred carrying their burden on their 
backs. On the 13th, Dr. Richardson sent back most of 
the men ; and on the 14th Franklin dispatched Mr. 
Wentzel and a party with the canoes, which had been 
repaired. Following the water-course as far as practi- 



TO PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

cable to Winter Lake, Franklin followed himself with 
Hepburn, three Canadians, two Indian hunters, and 
the two Esquimaux, and joined Dr. Richardson on the 
22d. On the 25th they all resumed their journey, and, 
as they proceeded down the river, were fortunate in 
killing, occasionally, several musk oxen. 

Ou the 15th they got a distinct view of the sea from 
the summit of a hill ; it appeared choked with ice and 
full of islands. About this time they tell in with small 
parties of Esquimaux. 

On the 19th Mr. Wentzel departed on his return for 
Slave Lake, taking with him four Canadians, who had 
been discharged for the purpose of reducing the expen- 
diture of provisions as much as possible, and dispatches 
to be forwarded to England. He was also instructed 
to cause the Indians to deposit a relay of provisions at 
Fort Enterprise, ready for the party should they return 
that way. The remainder of the party, including offi- 
cers, amounted to twenty persons. The distance that 
had been traversed from Fort Enterprise to the moutli 
of the river was about 334 miles, and the canoes had to 
be dragged 120 miles of this. 

Two conspicuous capes were named by Franklin after 
Fleame and Mackenzie ; and a river which falls into the 
5ea, to the westward of the Coppermine, he called after 
his companion, Richardson. 

On the 21st of July, Franklin and his party embarked 
in their two canoes to navigate the Polar Sea, to the 
eastw^ard, having with them provisions for fifteen days. 

On the 25th they doubled a blufi' cape, which was 
named after Mr. Barrow, of the Admiralty. An open- 
ing on its eastern side received the appellation of Inman 
Harbor, and a group of islands were called after Pro- 
fessor Jameson. "Within the next fortnight, additions 
were made to their stock of food by a few^ deer and one 
or two bears, which were shot. Being less fortunate 
afterward, and with no prospect of increasing their sup- 
ply of provision, the daily allowance to eac^i man wap 
limited to a handful of pemmican and a small portion 
of ])ortable soup. 



FRANKLIN^S FIKST LAND EXPEDITI(3N. 71 

On the morning of the 5th of August they came to 
the mouth of a river blocked up with shoals, which 
Franklin named after his friend and companion Back. 

The time spent in exploring Arctic and Melville 
Sounds and Bathurst Inlet, and the failure of meeting 
with Esquimaux from whom provisions could be ob- 
tained, precluded any possibility of reaching E^pulse 
Bay, and therefore having but a day or two's provisions 
left, Franklin considered it prudent to turn back after 
reaching Point Turnagain, having sailed nearly 600 
geographical miles in tracing the deeply indented coast 
of Coronation Gulf from the Coppermine River. On 
the 22d August, the return voyage was commenced, 
the boats making for Hood's Biver by the way of the 
Arctic Sound, and being taken as far up the stream as 
possible. On the 31st it was found impossible to pro- 
ceed with them farther, and smaller canoes were made, 
suitable for crossing any of the rivers that might ob- 
struct their progress. The weight carried by each man 
was about 90 lbs., and with this they progressed at the 
rate of a mile an hour, including rests. 

On the 5th of September, having nothing to eat, the 
last piece of pemmican and a little arrow-root having 
formed a scanty sup]3er, and being without the means 
of making a fire, they remained in bed all day. A se- 
vere snow-storm lasted two days, and the snow even 
drifted into their tents, covering their blankets several 
inches. " Our suffering (says Franklin) from cold, in a 
comfortless canvass tent in such weather, with the tem- 
perature at 20°, and without fire, will easily be im- 
agined ; it was, however, less than that which we felt 
from hunger." 

Weak from fasting, and their garments stiffened with 
the frost, after packing their frozen tents and bedclothes 
the poor travelers agam set out on the 7th. 

After feeding almost exclusively on several species 
jf Gyrophora, a lichen known as trijpe de roche.^ which 
6carcely allayed the pangs of hunger, on the 10th " they 
(ipl a good meal by killing a mnsk ox. To skin and 
cnt up tlie an'maJ vas the w(.rk of p. few minutes. The 



72 



PKOGRKSR OF AIICTIC DISCOVERY. 



contents of its stomacli were devoured upon the spot, 
and the raw intestines, which were next attacked, were 
pronounced by the most delicate amongst us to be ex- 
cellent." 

Wearied and worn out with toil and suffering, many 
of the party got careless and indifferent. One of the 
canoes was broken and al)andoned. With an improvi- 
dence scarcely to be credited, three of the fishing-nets 
were also thrown away, and the floats burnt. 

On the 17th they managed to allay the pangs of hun- 
ger by eating pieces of singed hide, and a little tripe de 
roche. This and some mosses, with an occasional sol- 
itary partridge, formed their invariable food ; on very 
many days even this scanty supply could not be obtained, 
and their appetites became ravenous. 

Occasionally they picked up pieces of skin, and a 
few bones of deer which had been devoured by the 
wolves in the previous spring. The bones were ren- 
dered friable by burning, arxd now and then their old 
shoes were added to the repast. 

On the 26th they reached a bend of the Coppermine, 
which terminated in Point Lake. Tlie second canoe 
liad been demolished and abandoned by the bearers on 
the 23d, and they were thus left without any means of 
water transport across the lakes and river. 

On this day the carcass of a deer was discovered in 
the cleft of a rock, into which it had fallen in the spring. 
It was putrid, but little less acceptable to the poor starv- 
ing travelers on that account ; and a fire being kin- 
dled a large portion was devoured on the spot, afford- 
ing an unexpected breakfast. 

On the first of October one of the party, who had 
been out hunting, brought in the antlers and backbone 
of another deer, which had been killed in the summer. 
The wolves and birds of prey had picked them clean, 
but there still remained a quantity of the spinal mar- 
row, which they had not been able to extract. Tliin, 
although putrid, was esteemed a valuable prize, and 
the spine being divided into portions was distributed! 
equally. " Aftei eating the marrow, (says Franklin,) 



J^RANKLIN^S FIRST T.AND EXPEDlTlOlsr. I'S 

which was so acrid as to excoriate the lips, we ren- 
dered the bones friable by burning, and ate them also." 

The strength of the whole party now began to fail, 
from the privation and fatigue which they endured. — 
Franklin was in a dreadfully debilitated state. Mr. 
Hood was also reduced to a perfect shadow, from the 
severe bowel-complaints which the tripe de roche never 
failed to give him. Back was so feeble as to require 
the support of a stick in walking, and Dr. Richardson 
had lameness superadded to weakness. 

A rude canoe was constructed of willows, covered 
with canvass, in which the party, one by one, managed 
to reach in safety the southern bank of the river on 
the 4th of October, and went supperless to bed. On 
the following morning, previous to setting out, the 
whole party ate the remains of their old shoes, and 
whatever scraps of leather they had, to strengthen their 
stomachs for the fatigue of the day's journey. 

Mr. Hood now broke down, as did two or three more 
of the party, and Dr. Richardson kindly volunteered 
to remain with them, while the rest pushed on to Fort 
Enterprise for succor. I*Tot being able to find any tripe 
de roche^ they drank an infasion of the Labrador tea- 
plant {Ledrum, palustre^ var. deGiiinhens^ and ate a 
tew morsels of burnt leather for supper. This contin- 
ued to be a frequent occurrence. 

Others of the party continued to drop down with fa- 
tigue and weakness, until they were reduced to five 
persons, besides Franklin. When they had no food or 
nourishment of any kind, they crept under their blank- 
ets, to drown, if possible, the gnawing pangs of hunger 
and fatigue by sleep. At length they reached Fort En- 
terprise, and to their disappointment and grief found 
it a perfectly desolate habitation. There was no de- 
posit of provision, no trace of the Indians, no letter 
from Mr. Wentzel to point out where the Indians might 
be found. "It would be impossible (says Franklin,) to 
describe our sensations after entering; this miserable 
abode, and discoverinfc how we had been neglected • 
the whole partv f-lied tenr=;. not so much for our own 



74 PROGRESS O^ ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

fate as for that of our friends in the rear, whose lives 
depended entirely on our sending immediate relief 
from this place." A note, however, was found here 
from Mr. Eack, stating that he had reached the house 
by another route two days before, and was going in 
search of the Indians. If he was unsuccessful in find- 
ing them, he proposed walking to Fort Providence, 
and sending succor from thence, but he doubted whether 
he or his party could perform the journey to that place 
in their present debilitated state. Franklin and his 
small party now looked round for some means of pres- 
ent subsistence, and fortunately discovered several deer 
skins, which had been thrown away during their former 
residence here. The bones were gathered from the 
heap of ashes ; these, with the skins and the addition 
of tripe de roehe^ they considered would support life 
tolerably well for a short time. Th6 bones were quite 
acrid, and the soup extracted from them, quite putrid, 
excoriated the mouth if taken alone, but it was some- 
what milder when boiled with the lichen, and the mix- 
ture was even deemed palatable with a little salt, of 
which a cask had been left here in the spring. They 
procured fuel by pulling up the flooring of the rooms, 
and water for cooking by melting the snow. ! 

Augustus arrived safe after them, just as they were 
sitting round the fire eating their supper of singed 
skin. 

Late on the 13th, Belanger also reached the house, 
with a note from Mr. Back, stating that he had yet | 
found no trace of the Indians. The poor messenger 
was almost speechless, being covered with ice and | 
nearly frozen to death, having fallen into a rapid, and ' 
for the third time since the party left the coast, narrowly f 
escaped drowning. After being well rul)bed, having t 
had his dress changed, and some warm souj) given |i 
him, he recovered sufficiently to answer the questions li 
put to him. ': 

Under the impression that the Indians must be on \ 
their way to Fort Providence, and that it would be |f 
possible U overtal\e tlioin, a?^ tlioy usually traveled I' 



franklin's first land expedition. 75 

slowlj with their families, and there being likewise a 
prospect of killing deer about Reindeer Lake, where 
they had been usually found abundant, Franklin de- 
termined to take the route for that post, and sent word 
to Mr. Back by Belanger to that effect on the 18th. 

On the 20th of October, Franklin set out in com- 
pany with Benoit and Augustus to seek relief, having 
patched three pairs of snow shoes, and taken some 
singed skin for their support. Poltier and Sam and re 
had volunteered to remain at the house with Adam, 
who was too ill to proceed. They were so feeble as 
scarcely to be able to move. Augustus, the Esqui- 
maux, tried for fish without success, so that their only 
fare was skin and tea. At night, composing them- 
selves to rest, they lay close to each other for warmth, 
but found the night bitterly cold, and the wind pierced 
through their famished frames. 

On resuming the journey next morning, Franklin 
had the misfortune to break his snow-shoes, by falling 
between two rocks. This accident prevented him from 
keeping pace with the others, and in the attempt he 
became quite exhausted ; unwilling to delay their pro- 
gress, as the safety of all behind depended on their 
obtaining early assistance and immediate supplies, 
Franklin resolved to turn back, while the others 
pushed on to meet Mr. Back, or, missing him, they 
were directed to proceed to Fort Providence. Frank- 
lin found the two Canadians he had left at the house 
dreadfully weak and reduced, and so low spirited that 
he had great difficulty in rallying them to any exer- 
tion. As the insides of their mouths had become sore 
from eating the bone-soup, they now relinquished the 
use of it, and boiled the skin, which mode of dressing 
was fotmd more palatable than frying it. They had 
pulled down nearly all their dwelling for fuel, to warm 
themselves and cook their scanty meals. The tripe 
de roche^ on which they had depended, now became 
entirely frozen; and what was more tantalizing to 
their perisliing frames, was the sight of food within 
their reach, whicli they could not procure. " We sav 

5 



h 



76 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

(says Franklin) a herd of reindeer sporting on the| 
river, about half a mile from the house ; they re- 
mained there a long time, but none of the party fell 
themselves strong enough to go after them, nor wag 
there one of us who could have fired a gun withouj 
resting it." 

While they were seated round the fire this evening, 
discoursing about the anticipated relief, the sound of 
voices was heard, which was thought with joy to be 
that of the Indians, but, to their bitter disappoint- 
ment, the debilitated frames and emaciated counte- J 
nances of Dr. Kichardson and Hepburn presented 
themselves at the door. They were of course gl-adly 
received, although each marked the ravages which fam- 
ine, care and fatigue had made on the other. The 
Doctor particularly remarked the sepulchral tone of 
the voices of his friends, which he requested them to 
make more cheerful if possible, unconscious that his 
own partook of the same key. 

Hepburn, having shot a partridge, which was brought 
to the house. Dr. Richardson tore out the feathers, 
and having held it to the fire a few minutes, divided 
it into six portions. Franklin and his three compan- 
ions ravenously devoured their shares, as it was the 
first morse] of fiesh any of them had tasted for thirty- 
one days, unless, indeed, the small gristly particles 
which they found adhering to the pounded bones may 
be termed flesh. Their spirits were revived by this 
small supply, and the Doctor endeavored to raise 
them still liigher by the prospect of Hepburn's being 
able to kill a deer next day, as they had seen, and 
even fired at, several near the house. He endeavored, 
too, to rouse them into some attention to the comfort 
of their apartment. Having brought his Prayer-book 
and Testament, some prayers, psalms, and portions 
of scripture, appropriate to their situation, were read 
out by Dr. Eichardson, and they retired to their 
blankets. 

Early next morning, tlie Doctor and Hepburn went 
out iu search of ji^auie , but though they saw several 



fkaj^klin's fikst land expedition. 77 

herds of deer, and fired some shots, they were not so 
fortunate as to kill any, being too weak to hold their 
guns steadily. The cold compelled the former to re- 
turn soon, but Hepburn perse veringly persisted until 
late in the evening. 

" My occupation, (continues Franklin) was to search 
for skins under the snow, it being now our object im- 
mediately to get all that we could ; but I had not 
strength to drag in more than two of those which were 
within twenty yards of the house, until the Doctor 
came and assisted me. We made up our stock to 
twenty-six ; but several of them were putrid, and 
scarcely eatable, even by men suffering the extremity 
of famine. Peltier and Samandre continued very 
weak and dispirited, and they were unable to cut fire- 
wood. Hepburn had, in consequence, that laborious 
task to perform after he came back late from hunting." 
To the exertions, honesty, kindness, and consideration 
of this worthy man, the safety of most of the party is 
to be attributed. And I may here mention that Sir 
John Franklin, when he became governor of Yan 
Diemen's Land, obtained for him a good civil appoint- 
ment. This deserving man, I am informed by Mr. 
Barrow, is now in England, having lost his office, 
which, I believe, has been abolished. It is to be 
hoped something will be done for him by the govern- 
ment. 

After their usual supper of singed skin and bone 
soup, Dr. Hichardson acquainted Franklin with the 
events that had transpired since their j)arting, particu- 
larly with the afflicting circumstances attending the 
death of Mr. Hood, and Michel, the Iroquois ; the par- 
ticulars of which I shall now proceed to condense from 
his narrative. 

After Captain Franklin had bidden them farewell, 
having no tri^e de roche they drank an infusion of the 
country tea-j)lant, which was grateful from its warmth, 
although it afforded no sustenance. They then retired 
to bed, and kept to their blankets all next day,, as the 
snow drift was SQ heavy as to prevent their lighting i. 



78 PJiOGliESS OF AKCTIO DISUOVEKY. 

fire with the green and frozen willows, which were 
their only fuel. 

Through the extreme kindness and forethought of 
a lady, the party, previous to leaving London, had 
been furnished with a small collection of religious 
books, of which, (says Richardson,) we still retained 
two or three of the most portable, and they proved of 
incalculable benefit to us. 

" We read portions of them to each other as we lay 
in bed, in addition to the morning and evening service, 
and found that they inspired us on each perusal with 
so strong a sense of the omnipresence of a beneficent 
God, that our situation, even in these wilds, appeared 
no longer destitute ; and we conversed not only with 
calmness, but with cheerfulness, detailing with unre- 
strained confidence the past events of our lives, and 
dwelling with hope on our future prospects." How 
beautiful a picture have we here represented, of true 
piety and resignation to the divine will inducing pa- 
tience and submission under an unexampled load of 
misery and privation. 

Michel, the Iroquois, joined them on the 9th of Oc- 
tober, having, there is strong reason to believe, mur- 
dered two of the Canadians who were with him, Jean 
Baptiste Belanger and Perrault, as they were never 
seen afterward, and he gave so many rambling and 
contradictory statements of his proceedings, that no 
credit could be attached to his story. 

The travelers proceeded on their tedious journey by 
slow stages. Mr. Hood was much affected with dim 
ness of sight, giddiness, and other symptoms of ex 
treme debility, which caused them to move slowly and 
to make frequent halts. Michel absented himself all 
day of the 10th, and only arrived at their encampment 
near the pines late on the 11th. 

He reported that he had been in chase of some deer 
which passed near his sleeping place in the morning, 
and although he did not come up with them, yet he 
found a wolf which had been killed by the stroke of 
\i deer's horn, and had brought a part of it. 



! FJBANKIJn's FIKST LAND EXI^EDITION. 79 

Ilicliardson adds — "We implicitly believed this 
!' ttory tlien, but afterward became aware — from cir- 
cumstances, the details of which may be spared — that 
! it must have been a portion of the body of Belanger, 
or Perrault. A question of moment here presents it- 
self — namely, whether he actually murdered these 
men, or either of them, or whether he found the bodies 
in the snow. Captain Franklin, who is the best able to 
j judge of this matter, from knowing their situation when 
lie parted from them, suggested the former idea, and 
that both these men had been sacrificed ; that Michel, 
having already destroyed Belanger, completed his 
crime by Perrault's death, in order to screen himself 
from detection." 

Although this opinion is founded only on circum- 
stances, and is unsupported by direct evidence, it has 
been judged proper to mention it, especially as the 
subsequent conduct of the man showed that he was 
capable of committing such a deed. It is not easy to 
assign any other adequate motive for his concealing 
from Richardson that iPerrault had turned back ; while 
his request, over-night, that they would leave him the 
hatchet, and his cumbering himself with it when he 
went out in the morning, unlike a hunter, who makes 
use only of his knife when he kills a deer, seem to 
indicate that he took it for the purpose of cutting up 
something that he knew to be frozen. 

Michel left them early next day, refusing Dr. Rich- 
ardson's offer to accompany him, and remained out all 
day. He would not sleep in the tent with the other 
two at night. On the 13th, there being a heavy gale, 
they passed the day by their fire, without food. Kext 
day, at noon, Michel set out, as he said, to hunt, but 
returned unexpectedly in a short time. This conduct 
surprised his companions, and his contradictory and 
evasive answers to their questions excited their sus- 
picions still further. He subsequently refused either 
to hunt or cut wood, spoke in a very surly manner, 
and threatened to leave them. When reasoned with 
by Hr. Hood, his anger was excited, and he replied it 



80 PliOGllESS OF AKUTIC i »lS(JOVEliY . 

Wiis no use hunting — there were no animals, and they 
had better kill and eat him. ^ 

" At this period," observes Dr. Richardson, " w^ 
avoided, as much as possible, conversing upon th( 
hopelessness of our situation, and generally endear 
ored to lead the convei'sation toward our future proe 
pects in life. The fact is, that with the decay of 01 
strength, our minds decayed, and we were no longei 
able to bear the contemplation of the horrors that sur- 
rounded us. Yet we were calm and resigned to our 
fate ; not a murmur escaped us, and we were punctual 
and fervent in our addresses to the Supreme Being." 

On the morning of the 20th, they again urged Michel 
to go a-hunting, that he might, if possible, leave thei 
some provision, as he intended quitting them ne: 
day, but lie showed great unwillingness to go out, and 
lingered about the tire under the pretense of cleaning 
his gun. After the morning service had been readj^ 
Dr. Richardson went out to gather some tripe de roclu 
leaving Mr. Hood sitting before the tent at the firei 
side, arguing with Michel ; Hepburn was employed 
cutting fire-wood. While they were thus engaged, 
the ti-eacherous Iroquois took the opportunity to place 
his gun close to Mr. Hood, and shoot him through thc) 
head. He re])resented to his companions that the de- 
ceased had killed himself. On examination of the 
body, it was found that the shot had entered tlie back 
part of the head and passed out at the forehead, and 
that the muzzle of the gun had been applied so close 
as to set fii-e to the nightcap behind. Michel pro- 
tested his innocence of the crime, and Hepburn and 
Dr. Richardson dared not openly evince their suspi 
cion of his guilt. 

Next day, Dr. Richardson determined on goin<, 
straight to the Fort. They singed the hair off a pari 
of the buffalo robe that belonged to their ill-fated com 
])anion, and boiled and ate it. In the course of theii 
march, Michel alarmed them much by his gesture; 
and conduct, was constantly i|uitteriiig to himself, ex 
pressed an UQwillingness to go to the Fort, and tried 



franklin's fikst land expedition. 81 

to pei'Biiade them to go southward to the woods, where 
he said he could maintain himself all the winter by 
killing deer. " In consequence of this behavior, and 
the expression of his countenance, I requested hiir 
(says Richardson) to leave us, and to go to the south 
ward by himself. This proposal increased his ill-na- 
ture ; he threw out some obscure hints of freeing 
himself from all restraint on the morrow ; and I over- 
heard him muttering threats against Hepburn, whom 
he openly accused of having told stories against him. 
He also, for the first time, assumed such a tone of 
superiority in addressing me, as evinced that he con- 
sidered us to be completely in his power ; and he gave 
vent to several expressions of hatred toward the white 
])eople, some of whom, he said, had killed and eaten 
liis uncle and two of his relations. In short, takins' 
evei'y circumstance of his conduct into consideration, 
r came to the conclusion that he would attempt to 
destroy us on the first opportunity that ofiered, and 
tliat he had hitherto abstained from doing so from his 
iguorance of his way to the Fort, but that he would 
never sufi'er us to go thither in company with him. 
Hepburn and I were not in a condition to resist even 
an open attack, nor could we by any device escape 
from him — our united strength was fa.r inferior to his; 
and, beside his gun, he was armed with two pistols, 
an Indian bayonet, and a knife. 

" In the afternoon, coming to a rock on which thei*e 
was some trijje de roche^ he halted, and said he would 
gather it while we went on, and that he would soon 
overtake us. 

" Hepburn and I were now left together for the first 
time since Mr. Hood's death, and he acquainted me w^ith 
several material circumstances, which he had observed 
of Michel's behavior, and which confirmed me in the 
opinion that there was no safety for us except in liis 
death, and he ofiered to be the instrument of it. I de- 
termined, however, as I was thoroughly convinced of 
the necessity of such a dreadful act, to take the whole 
responsibility upon myself; and immediately upon Mi 



82 PKOUKESS OF AKCTIO DISCOVERY. 

ctiePs comiDg up, I put an end to his life by shooting 
him through the head with a pistoL Plad my own life 
alone been threatened," observes Richardson, in conclu- 
sion, " I would not have purchased it by such a measure, 
but I considered myself as intrusted also with the pro- 
tection of Hepburn's, a man who, by his humane atteii 
tions and devotedness, had so endeared himself to me, 
that I felt more anxiety for his safety than for my own. 

" Michel had gathered no tripe dc roche^ and it was evi- 
dent to us that he had halted for the purpose of putting 
his gun in order with the intention of attacking us — 
perhaps while we were in the act of encamping." 

Persevering onward in their journey as well as the 
snow storms and their feeble limbs would permit, they 
saw several herds of deer ; but Hepburn, who used to 
be a good marksman, was now unable to hold the gun 
straight. Following the track of a wolverine which had 
been dragging something, he however found the spine 
of a deer wliich it had dropped. It was clean picked, 
and at least one season old, but they extracted the spinal 
marrow from it. 

A species of comicularia^ a kind of lichen, was also 
met with, that was found good to eat when moistened 
and toasted over the fire. Tbey had still some pieces 
of singed buffalo hide remaining, and Hepburn, on 
one occasion, killed a partridge, after firing several 
times at a flock. About dusk of the 29th they reached \ 
the Fort. 

"Upon entering the desolate dwelling, we had the I 
satisfaction of embracing Capt. Franklin, but no words | 
can convey an idea of the filth and wretchedness that 
met our eyes on looking around. Our own misery had \ 
stolen upon us by degrees, and we were accustomed to 
the contemplation of each other's emaciated figures ; 
but the ghastly countenances, dilated eye-balls, and 
sepulchral voices of Captain Franklin and those with 
him were more than we could at first bear." 

Thus ends the narrative of Richardson's journey. 

To resume the detail of proceedings at the Fort. On 
the Ist of November two of tlie Canadians, Peltier and 
Samandre, died from sheer exhaustion. 






FRANKLIN^S FIRST tAND EXPEDITION. S3" 

On the 7th of I^ovember they were relieved from 
their privations and sufferings by the arrival of three 
Indians, bringing a supply of dried meat, some fat, and 
a few tongues, which had been sent off by Back with 
all haste from Akaitcho's encampment on the 5th. 
These Indians nursed and attended them with the 
greatest care, cleansed the house, collected fire- wood, 
and studied every means for their general comfort. Their 
sufferings were now at an end. On the 26th of Novem- 
ber they arrived at the encampment of the Indian chief, 
Akaitcho. On the 6th of December Belanger and an- 
other Canadian arrived, bringing further supplies, and 
letters from England, from Mr. Back, and their former 
companion, Mr. Wentzel. 

The dispatches from England announced the success- 
ful termination of Captain Parry's voyage, and the pro- 
motion of Captain Franklin, Mr. Back, and of poor Mr. 
Hood. 

On the 18th they reached the Hudson's Bay Compa- 
ny's establishment at Moose Deer Island, where they 
joined their friend Mr. Back. They remained at Fort 
Chipewyan until June of the following year. 

It is now necessary to relate the story of Mr. Back's 
journey, which, like the rest, is a sad tale of suffering 
and privation. 

Having been directed, on the 4th of October, 1821, 
to proceed with St. Germain, Belanger, and Beaupar- 
lant to Fort Enterprise, in the hopes of obtaining relief 
for the party, he set out. Up to the 7th they met with 
a little tripe deroche^ but this failing them they weie 
compelled to satisfy, or rather allay, the cravings of 
hunger, by eating a gun-cover and a pair of old shoes. 
The grievous disappointment experienced on arriving 
at the house, and finding it a deserted ruin, cannot be 
told. 

"Without the assistance of the Indians, bereft of 
every resource, we felt ourselves," says Mr. Back, " re- 
duced to the most miserable state, which was rendered 
still worse from the recollection that our friends in the 
rear were as miserable as ourselves. For the moment, 

D 



n . ] 

I 



84 PllOGRESS OF AKCTIO t)tSCOVTi:RY. 

however, hunger prevailed, and eacli began to gnaw; 
tlie scraps of putrid and frozen meat and skin tliat werej 
lying about, without waiting to prepare them." A fir 
was, however, afterward made, and the neck and bone 
of a deer found in the house \jerQ boiled and devoured; 

After resting a day at the house, Mr. Back pushed on 
with his companions in search of the Indians, leaving 
note for Captain Franklin, informing him if he failed in^ 
meeting with tlie Indians, he intended to push on fo 
the first trading establishment — distant about 13 
miles — and send us succor from thence. On the 11th 
he set out on the journey, a few old skins having been 
first collected to serve as food. 

On the 13th and 14th of October they had nothing 
whatever to eat. Belanger was sent off with a note to 
Franklin. On the 15th they were fortunate enough to 
fall in with a partridge, the bones of which were eaten, 
and the remainder reserved for bait to fish with. 
Enough tripe de roohe was, however, gathered to make 
a meal. Heauparlant now lingered behind, worn out 
by extreme weakness. On the ITth a number of crows, 
perched on some high pines, led them to believe that 
some carrion was near ; and on searching, several heads 
of deer, half buried in the snow and ice, without eyes 
or tongues, were found. An expression of " Oh, merci- 
ful God, we are saved," broke from them both and with 
feelings more easily imagined than described, they 
?hook hands, not knowing what to say for joy. 

St. Germain was sent back, to bring up Beauparlant, 
for wliose safety Back became very anxious, but he 
found the poor fellow froze n to death. 

The night of the 17th was cold and clear, but tliey 
could get no sleep. "From the pains of having eaten, 
we suffered (observes Back) the most excruciating tor- 
ments, though I in particular did not eat a (juarter of 
what would have satisfied me ; it might have been from 
having eaten a quantity of raw or frozen sinews of the 
legs of deer, which neither of us could avoid doing, s*. 
great wns our hunger." 

On the tbllowino: dav Belanoror returned fumishin" 



FABRY'S l^IKST V0"iAx>1^1* 85 



c 



with hunger, and told of the pitiable state of Franklin 
and his reduced party. Back, both this day and the 
i next, tried to urge on his companions toward the object 
I of their journey, but he could not conquer their stub- 
! born determinations. They said they were unable to 
I proceed from weakness ; knew not the way ; that Back 
wanted to expose them again to death, and in fact loi- 
tered greedily about the remnants of the deer till the 
end of the month. " It was not without the greatest 
difficulty that I could restrain the men from eating ev- 
ery scraj) they found ; though they were well aware of 
the necessity there was of being economical in our pres- 
ent situation, and to save whatever they could for our 
'' journey, yet they could not resist the temptation ; and 
I whenever my back was turned they seldom failed to 
snatch at the nearest piece to them, whether cooked or 
I raw. Having collected with great care, and by self- 
lenial, two small packets of dried meat or sinews -suffi- 
cient (for men who knew what it v^^as to fast) to last for 
eight days, at the rate of one indifferent meal per day, 
they set out on the 30th. On the 3d of ]S'oveml3er they 
came on the track of Indians, and sooii reached the 
tents of Akaitcho and his followers, when food was 
obtained, and assistance sent off to Franklin. 

In July they reached York Factory, from whence 
they had started three years before, and thus terminated 
a journey of 5550 miles, during wdiich human courage 
and patience were exposed to trials such as few can 
bear with fortitude, unless, as is seen in Franklin's in- 
teresting narrative, arising out of reliance on the ever 
sustaining care of an Almighty Providence. 

Parry's First Yoyage, 1819-1820. 

The Admiralty having determined to continue the 

progress of discovery in the Arctic seas, Lieut W. E. 

Parry, who had been second in command under Capt. 

Ross, in the voyage of the previous year, was selected 

! to take charge of a new" expedition, consisting of the 

I Ilecla and Griper. The cliief object of this voyage was 

j ti) pursue the survey of Ltincaster Sound, and decide 



86 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

on the probability of a northwest passage in tliat direc- 
tion ; failing in which, Smith's and Jones' Sf imi 
were to be explored, with the same purpose in vew. 
The respective officers appointed to the hii'S'. 
were — 

Hecla^ 375 tons : 

Lient. and Commander — W. E. Parry. 

Lieutenant — Fred. W. Beechey. 

Captain — E. Sabine, E,. A., Astronomer. 

Purser — W. H. Hooper. 

Surgeon — John Edwards. 

Assistant Surgeon — Alexander Fisher. 

Midshipmen — James Clarke Ross, J. Nias, W. J 

Dealy, Charles Palmer, John Bushnan. 
Greenland Pilots — J. Allison, master ; G. Craw 

furd, mate. 
44 Petty Officers, Seamen, &c. 

Total complement, 58. 

Griper^ 180 tons : 

Lieutenant and Commander — Matthew Liddon. 
Lieutenant — H. P. Hoppner. 
Assistant Surgeon — G J. Beverley. 
Midshipmen — A. Reid, A. M. Skene, W. N 

Griffiths. 
Greenland Pilots — George Fyfe, master ; A. Eld- 

mate. 
28 Petty Officers, Seamen, &c. 

Total complement, 36. 

The ships were raised upon, strengthened, and weU 
found in stores and provisions for two years. On the 
11th of May, 1819, they got away from the Thames, 
and ailer a fair passage fell in with a considerable quan- 
tity of ice in the middle of Davis' Straits about the 
20th of June ; it consisted chiefly of fragments of ice- 
bergs, on the outskirts of the glaciers tliat foj-m along 
the shore. After a tedious passage tlirougli the floes 
of ice, effected chiefly by heaving and warping, they 
arrived at Possession Bay on the morniiio* of the 3l8t 



PAREY^S FIKST VOYAGE. 8'? 

uf July, being just a month earlier than they were 
iiere on the previous year. As many as fifty whales 
were seen here in the course of a few hours. On land- 
ing, they were not a little astonished to find their own 
footprints of the previous year, still distinctly visible in 
the snow. During an excursion of three or four miles 
into the interior, a fox, a raven, several ring-plovers 
and snow-buntings, were seen, as also a bee, from whicli 
it may be inferred that honey can be procured even in 
these wild regions. Yegetation flourishes remarkably 
well here, considering the high latitude, for wherever 
there was moisture, tufts and various ground plants 
grew in considerable abundance. 

Proceeding on from hence into the Sound, they veri- 
fied the opinion which had previously been entertained 
by many of the oflicers, that the Groher Moimtains 
had no existence, for on the 4:th of August, the ships 
were in long. 86° 56' "W., three degrees to the westward 
of where land had been laid down by Koss in the pre- 
vious year. The strait was named after Sir John Bar- 
row, and was found to be pretty clear ; but on reach- 
ing Leopold Island, the ice extended in a compact body 
to the north, through which it was impossible to pene- 
trate. Rather than remain inactive, waiting for the 
dissolution of the ice. Parry determined to try what 
could be done by shaping his course to the southward, 
through the magnificent inlet now named Regent In- 
let. About the 6th of August, in consequence of tlie 
local attraction, the ordinary compasses became use- 
less from their great variation, and the binnacles were 
removed from the deck to the carpenter's store-room as 
useless lumber, the azimuth compasses alone remain- 
ing ; and these became so sluggish in their motions, 
that they required to be very nicely leveled, and fre- 
quently tapped before the card traversed. The local at- 
traction was very great, and a mass of iron-stone found 
on shore attracted the magnet powerfully. The ships 
proceeded 120 miles from the entrance. 

On the 8th of August, in lat. T2° 13' N., and long. 
90" 29' W., (his extreme point of view Parry named 



P>S PROGEKSS Ot? ARCTIC DISCOVEIiY. 

Capo Kater,) the Hecla came to a compact barrier of 
ice extending across the inlet, which rendered one of 
two alternatives necessary, either to remain here until 
an opening took place, or to return again to the noi-tli- 
ward. The latter course was determined on. Making, 
tlierefore, for the nortliern shore of Barrow's Strait, on 
tlie 20th a narrow channel was discovered between the 
ice and the land. On the 22d, proceeding due west, 
after passing several bays and headlands, they noticed 
two large openings or passages, the iii-st of which, more 
than eight leagues in width, he named Wellington 
Channel. To various capes, inlets, and groups of isl- 
ands passed. Parry assigned the names of llotham, 
Barlow, Cornwallis, Bowen, Byam Martin, Griffith, 
Lowther, Bathurst, &c. On the 28th a boat was sent 
on shore at Byam Martin Island with Capt. Sabine, 
Mr. J. C. Ross, and the surgeons, to make observations, 
and collect specimens of natural history. The vegeta- 
tion was rather luxuriant for these regions; moss in 
particular grew in abundance in the moist valleys and 
along the banks of the streams that flowed from the 
hills. The ruins of six Esquimaux huts were observed. 
Tracks of reindeer, bears, and musk oxen were noticed, 
and the skeletons, skulls, and horns of some of these 
animals were found. 

On the 1st of September, they discovered the large 
and fine island, to which Parry has given the name of 
Melville Island after the First Lord of the Admiralty 
of that day. On the following day, two boats with a 
party of officers were dispatched to examine its shores. 
Some reindeer and musk oxen were seen on landing, 
but being startled by the sight of a dog, it was found 
impossible to get near them. There seemed here to be 
a great quantity of the animal tribe, for the tracks of 
bears, oxen, and deer were numerous, and the horns, 
Bkin, and skulls were also found. The burrows of foxes 
and field-mice were observed; several ptarmigan were 
shot, and fiocks of snow-bunting, geese, and ducks, were 
noticed, probabl}'^ commencing their migration to a 
milder climate. Along the beach there was an im- 



PAitBY^S FmST VOYAGE. 89 

mense number of small shrimps, and various kinds of 
shells. 

On the 4th of September, Parry had the satisfaction 
of crossing the meridian of 110° W., in the latitude of 
74° 44' 20", by which the expedition became entitled 
to the reward of £5000, granted by an order in Coun- 
cil upon the Act 68 Geo. III., cap. 20, entitled, "An 
Act for more effectually discovering the longitude at 
sea, and encouraging attempts to find a northern pas- 
sage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and to 
approach the ISTorth Pole." This fact was not announced 
to the crews until the following day; to celebrate the 
event they gave to a bold cape of the island then lying 
in sight the name of Bounty Cape; and so anxious 
were they now to press forward, that they began to 
calculate the time when they should reach the longi- 
tude of 130° W., the second place specified by the order 
in Council for reward. On the afternoon of the 5th, 
the compactness of the ice stopped them, and therefore, 
for the first time since leaving England, the anchor was 
let go, and that in 110° W. longitude. 

A boat was sent on shore on the 6th to procure turf 
or peat for fnel, and, strangely enough, some small 
pieces of tolerably good coal were found in various 
places scattered over the surface. A party of ofticers 
that went on shore on the 8th killed several grouse on 
the island, and a white hare ; a fox, some field-mice, 
several snow-bunting, a snowy owl, and four musk oxen 
were seen. Ducks, in small flocks, were seen along the 
shore, as well as several glaucous gulls and tern, and a 
solitary seal was observed. 

As the ships were coasting along on the 7th, tw6 
herds of musk oxen were seen grazing, at the distance 
of about three-quarters of a mile from the beach : one 
nerd consisted of nine, and the other of five of these 
cattle. They had also a distant view of two reindeer. 

The average weight of the hares here is about eight 
pounds. Mr. Fisher, the surgeon, from whose interest- 
ing journal I quote, states that it is very evident that 
this island must be frequented, if not constantly inha1> 



00 PEOGEESS OF AECTIC DISCOVEEY. 

ited, by musk oxen in great nnmbers, for their bones and 
horns are found scattered about in all directions, and 
the greatest part of the carcass of one was discovered 
on one occasion. The skulls of two carnivorous ani- 
mals, a wolf and a lynx, were also picked up here. A 
party sent to gather coals brought on board about halt 
a bushel — all they could obtain. 

On the morning of the 10th, Mr. George Fyfe, the 
master pilot, with a party of six men belonging to the 
Griper, landed with a view of making an exploringtrip 
of some fifteen or twenty miles into the interior. They 
only took provisions for a day with them. Great un- 
easiness was felt that they did not return ; and when 
two days elapsed, fears began to be entertained for 
their safety, and it was thought they must have lost 
their way. 

Messrs. Reid, (midshipman) Beverly, (assistant sur- 
geon) and Wakeman (clerk) volunteered to go in search 
of their missing messmates, but themselves lost their 
way ; guided by the rockets, fires, and lights exhibited, 
they returned by ten at night, almost exhausted with 
cold and fatigue, but without intelligence of their friends. 
Four relief parties were therefore organized, and sent 
out on the morning of the 13th to prosecute the search, 
and one of them fell in with and brought back four of 
the wanderers, and another the remaining three before 
ni^tfall. 

The feet of most of them were much frost-bitten, and 
they were all wearied and worn out with their wander- 
ings. It appears they had all lost their way the eve- 
ning of the day they went out. With regard to food, 
they were by no means badly off, for they managed to 
kill as many grouse as they could eat. 

They found fertile valleys and level plains in the in- 
terior, abounding with grass and moss ; also a lake of 
fresh water, about two miles long by one broad, in which 
were several species of trout. They saw several herds 
of reindeer on the plains, and two elk ; also many 
hares, but no musk oxen. Some of those, however, who 
had been in search of the stray party, noticed herds of 
these cattle. 



parry's first VOYA(tE. 91 

The winter now began to set in, and the packed ice 
was so thick, that fears were entertained of being locked 
lip in an exposed position on the coast ; it was, there- 
fore, thought most prudent to put back, and endeavor 
to reach the harbor which had been passed some days 
before. The vessels now got seriously buffeted among 
the floes and hummocks of ice. The Griper was forcecl 
aground on the beach, and for some time was in a very 
critical position. Lieutenant Liddon having been con- 
fined to his cabin by a rheumatic complaint, was pressed 
at this juncture by Commander Parry to allow himself 
to be removed to the Hecla, but he nobly refused, stating 
that he should be the last to leave the ship, and contin- 
ued giving orders. The beach being sand, the Griper 
was got off without injury. 

On the 23d of September they anchored off the 
mouth of the harbor, and the thermometer now fell to 
1°. The crew were set to work to cut a channel through 
the ice to the shore, and in the course of three days, a 
canal, two and a half miles in length, was completed, 
through which the vessel was tracked. The ice was 
eight or nine inches thick. An extra allowance of pre- 
served meat was served out to the men, in considera- 
tion of their hard labor. The vessels were unrigged, 
and every thing made snug and secure for passing the 
winter. Captain Parry gave the name of the North 
Georgian Islands to this group, after his Majesty, King 
George III., but this has since been changed to the 
Parry Islands. 

Two reindeer were killed on the 1st of October, and 
several white bears were seen. On the 6th a deer was 
killed, which weighed 170 pounds. Seven were seen 
on the 10th, one of which was killed, and another se- 
verely wounded. Following after this animal, night 
overtook several of the sportsmen, and the usual sig- 
nals of rockets, lights, &c. were exhibited, to guide 
them back. One, John Pearson, a marine, had his 
hands so frost-bitten that he was obliged, on the 2d of 
Novemb<jr, to have the four fingers of his left hand am- 
putated. A wolf and four reindeer were seen on the 

6 P* 



92 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

14th. A herd of fifteen deer were seen on the 15th; 
but tliose who saw them could not bring down any, as 
their fowling-pieces missed fire, from the moisture 
freezing on the locks. On the 17th and 18th herds of 
eleven and twenty respectively, were seen, and a small 
one was shot. A fox was caught on the 29th, which is 
described as equally cunning with his brethren of the 
temperate regions. 

To make the long winter pass as cheerfully as possi- 
ble, plays were acted, a school established, and a news- 
paper set on foot, certainly the first periodical publica- 
tion that had ever issued li'om the Arctic regions. The 
title of this journal, the editorial duties of which were 
undertaken by Captain Sabine, was "The Winter 
Chronicle, or New Georgia Gazette." The first num- 
ber appeared on the 1st of l!^ovember. 

On the evening of the 5th of l^ovember the farce of 
" Miss in her Teens " was brought out, to the great 
amusement of the ships' companies, and, considering 
the local difliculties and disadvantages under which the 
performers labored, their first essay, according to tlie 
ofticers' report, did them infinite credit. Two hours 
were spent very happily in their theater on the quarter- 
deck, notwithstanding the thermometer outside the ship 
stood at zero, and within as low as the freezing point, 
except close to the stoves, where it was a little higher. 
Another play was performed on the 24th, and so on 
every fortnight. The men were employed during the 
day in banking up the ships with snow. 

On the 23d of December, the officers performed " The 
Mayor of Garrett," which was followed by an after- 
piece, written by Captain Parry, entitled the " North- 
West Passage, or the Yoyage Finished." The sun hav- 
ing long since departed, the twilight at noon was so 
clear that books in the smallest print could be distint-tly 
read. 

On the Gtli of January, the farce of " Bon Ton " was 
performed, with the thermometer at 27° below zero. — 
The cold became more and more intense. On the 12th 
it was 51° beh w ze 'o, in the open air ; brandy froze t<i 



paery's first voyage. 93 

the consistency of honey; when taste-d in this state it 
left a smarting on the tongue. The greatest cold expe- 
rienced was on the 14th of January, when the ther- 
mometer fell to 52° below zero. On the 3d of Febru- 
ary, the sun was first visible above the horizon, after 
eighty-four days' absence. It was seen from the main- 
top of the ships, a height of about fifty-one feet above 
the sea. 

On the forenoon of the 24:th a fire broke out at the 
storehouse, which was used as an observatory. All 
hands proceeded to the spot to endeavor to subdue the 
flames, but having only snow to throw on it, and the 
mats with which the interior was lined being very dry, 
it was found impossible to extinguish it. The snow, 
however, covered the astronomical instruments and se- 
cured them from the fire, and when the roof had been 
pulled down the fire had burned itself out. Consider- 
able as the fire was, its influence or heat extended but 
a very short distance, for several of the officers and 
men were frost-bitten, and confined from their eftbrts 
for several weeks. John Smith, of the Artillery, who 
was Captain Sabine's servant, and who, together with 
Sergeant Martin, happened to be in the house at the 
time the fire broke out, sufiered much more severely. 
In their anxiety to save the dipping needle, which was 
standing close to the stove, and of which they knew 
the value, they immediately ran out with it; and Smith 
not having time to put on his gloves, had his fingers in 
half an hour so benumbed, and the animation so com- 
pletely suspended, that on his being taken on board 
by Mr. Edwards, and having his hands plunged into 
a basin of cold water, the surface of the water was iro- 
mediately frozen by the intense cold thus suddenly 
communicated to it; and notwithstanding the most hu- 
mane and unremitting attention paid him by the med- 
ical gentlemen, it was found necessary, some time after, 
to resort to the amputation of a part of four fingers 
on one hand, and three on the other. 

Parry adds, " the appearance which our faces pre- 
Honted at the fire was a curious one; almost every nose 



94: PKOGRESS OF AliCTlC DISCOVEKY. 

and cheek having become quite white with frost bites, 
in five minutes after being exposed to the weather, so 
that it was deemed necessary for the medical gentle- 
men, together with some others appointed to assist 
them, to go constantly round while the men were work 
ing at the tire, and to rub with snow the parts afiected. 
in order to restore animation." 

The weather got considerably milder in March; on 
the 6th the thermometer got up to zero for the first 
Mme since the 17th of December. The observatory 
house on shore was now rebuilt. 

The vapor, which had been in a solid state on the 
ship's sides, now thawed below, and the crew, scraping 
uif tlie coating of ice, removed on the 8th of March, 
above a hundred bucketsfull each, containing from five 
to six gallons, which had accumulated in less than a 
month, occasioned principally from the men's breath, 
and the steam of victuals at meals. 

The scurvy now broke out among the crew, and 
prompt measures were taken to remedy it. Captain 
Parry took great pains to raise mustard and cress in 
his cabin for the men's use. 

On the 30th of April, the thermometer stood at the 
freezing point, which it had not done since the 12th of 
September last. On the 1st of May, the sun was seen 
at midnight for the first time that season. 

A survey was now taken of the provisions, fuel, and 
stores; much of the lemon juice was found destroyed 
from the bursting in the bottles by the frost. Having 
been only vict'ialed for two years, and half that period 
having expired, Captain Parry, as a matter of prudence 
reduced all hands to two-thirds allowance of all sorts of 
provisions, except meat and sugar. 

The crew were now set to work in cutting away the 
ice round the ships : the average thickness was found 
to be seven feet. Many of the men who had been out 
on excursions began to sufter much fi'om snow blind- 
ness. The sensation wlien first experienced, is de- 
scribed as like that felt when dust or sand gets into 
tlie eyes They were, however, cured in the course o^ 



parky's first voyage. 95 

two or three days by keeping the eyes covered, and 
bathing them occasionally with sugar of lead, or some 
other cooling lotion. 

To prevent tlie recurrence of the complaint, the men 
were ordered to wear a piece of crape or some substi- 
tute for it over the eyes. 

The channel round the ships was completed by the 
ITth of May, and they rose nearly two feet, having 
been kept down by the pressure of the ice round them, 
although lightened during the winter by the consump- 
tion of food and fuel. On the 24:th, they were aston- 
ished by two showers of rain, a most extraordinary 
phenomenon in these regions. Symptoms of scurvy 
again appeared among the crew ; one of the seamen 
who had been recently cured, having imprudently been 
in the habit of eating the fat skimmings, or " slush," in 
which salt meat had been boiled, and which was served 
out for their lamps. As the hills in many places now be- 
came exposed and vegetation commenced, two or three 
pieces of ground were dug up and sown with seeds of 
radishes, onions, and other vegetables. Captain Parry 
determined before leaving to make an excursion across 
the island for the purpose of examining its size, bound- 
aries, productions, &c. Accordingly on the 1st of June, 
an expedition was organized, consisting of the com- 
mander, Captain Sabine, Mr. Fisher, the assistant-sur- 
geon, Mr. John Nias, midshipman of the Hecla, and 
Mr. Reid, midshipman of the Griper, with two ser 
geants, and five seamen and marines. Three weeks 
provisions were taken, which, together with two tents 
wood for fuel, and other articles, weighing in all about 
800 lbs., was drawn on a cart prepared for the purpose 
by the men. 

Each of the officers carried a knapsack with his own 
private baggage, weighing from 18 to 24 lbs., also his 
gun and ammunition. The party started in high glee, 
under three hearty cheers from their comrades, sixteen 
of whom accompanied them for five miles, carrying 
their knapsacks and drawing the cart for them. 

They traveled by night, taking leA by day, as it wa« 



06 



PKOGKESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 



found to be warmer for sleep, and they liad only a cov- 
ering of a single blanket each, beside the clothes tbey 
had on. 

On the 2d, thej came to a small lake, about half a 
mile long, and met with eider-ducks and ptarmigan ; 
seven of the latter were shot. From the top of a range 
of hills at which they now arrived , they could see the 
masts of the ships in Winter Harbor with the naked 
eye, at about ten or eleven miles distant. A vast plain 
was also seen extending to the northward and west- 
ward. 

The party breakfasted on biscuit and a pint of gruel 
each, made of salep powder, which was found to be a 
very palatable diet. Reindeer with their fawns were 
met with. 

They derived great assistance in dragging their cart 
by rigging upon it one of the tent-blankets as a sail, a 
truly nautical contrivance, and the wind favoring them, 
they made great progress in this way. Captain Sabine 
being taken ill with a bowel complaint, had to be con- 
veyed on this novel sail carriage. They, however, had 
Bome ugly ravines to pass, the crossings of which' were 
very tedious and troublesome. On the 7th the party 
came to a large bay, which was named after their ships, 
Hecla and Griper Bay. The blue ice was cut through 
by hard work with boarding pikes, the only instruments 
they had, and after digging fourteen and a half feet, 
the water rushed up ; it was not very salt, but sufficient 
to satisfy them that it was the ocean. An island seen 
in the distance was named after Captain Sabine ; some 
of the various points and capes were also named after 
others of the party. Although this shore was foimd 
blocked up with such heavy ice, there appear to be times 
when there is open water here, for a piece of fir wood 
seven and a half feet long, and about the thickness of 
a man's arm, was found about eighty yards inland from 
the hummocks of the beach, and about thirtv feet above 
the level of the sea. Before leaving the shore, a monu- 
ment of stones, twelve feet high, was erected, in which 
were deposited, in a tin cylinder, an account of their 



pakby's first voyage. 97 

m^ ceedings, a few coins, and several naval buttons. 
The expedition now turned back, sliapinp^ its course in 
a more westerly direction, toward some high blae hills, 
which had long been in sight. On many days several 
ptarmigans were shot. The horns and tracks of deer 
were very numerous. 

On the 11th they came in sight of a deep gulf, to 
which Lieutenant Liddon's name was given ; the two 
capes at its entrance being called after Beechey and 
Hoppner. In the center was an island about three-quar- 
ters of a mile in length, and rising abruptly to the 
height of 700 feet. The shores of the gulf were very 
rugged and precipitant, and in descending a steep hill, 
the axle-tree of their cart broke, and they had to leave 
it behind, taking the body with them, however, for fael. 
The wheels, which were left on the spot, may astonish 
some future adventurer who discovers them. The stores, 
&c., were divided among the officers and men. 

Making their way on the ice in the gulf, the island in 
the center was explored, and named after Mr. Hooper, 
the purser of the Hecla. It was found to be of sand- 
stone, and very barren, rising perpendicularly fi-om the 
west side. Four fat geese were killed here, and a great 
many animals were seen around the gulf ; some atten- 
tion being paid to examining its shores, &c., a fine open 
valley was discovered, and the tracks of oxen and 
deer were very numerous ; the pasturage appeared to 
be excellent. 

On the 13th, a few ptarmigan and golden plover were 
killed. No less than thirteen deer in one herd were 
seen, and a musk ox for the first time in this season. 

The remains of six Esquimaux huts were discovered 
about 300 yards from the beach. Yegetation now be- 
gan to flourish, the sorrel was found far advanced, and 
a species of saxifrage was met with in blossom. They 
reached the ships on the evening of the 15 th, after a 
journey of about 180 miles. 

The ships' crews, during their absence, had been occu« 
pied in getting ballast in and re-stowing the hold. 

Shooting parties were now sent out in various direcv 



08 PKOGJSESS OF AKCriC DISOOVEKY. 



tioii8 to procure game. Dr. Fisher gives an interesting^ 
account of his ten days' excursion with a couple of men. 
The deer were not so numerous as they expected to find 
them. About thirty were seen, of which his party 
killed but two, which were very lean, weighing only, 
when skinned and cleaned, 50 to 60 lbs. A couple of 
wolves were seen, and some foxes, with a great many 
hares, four of which were killed, weighing from 7 to 8 
lbs. The aquatic birds seen were — brent geese, king 
ducks, long-tailed ducks, and arctic and glaucous gulls. 
The land birds were ptarmigans, plovers, sanderlings 
and snow buntings. The geese were pretty numerous 
for the first few days, but got wild and wary on being 
disturbed, keeping in the middle of lakes out of gun- 
shot. About a dozen were, however, killed, and fifteen 
ptarmigans. These birds are represented to be so stu- 
pid, that all seen may be shot. Dr. Fisher was sur- 
prised on his return on the 29th of June, after his ten 
days' absence, to find how much vegetation had ad- 
vanced ; the land being now completely clear of snow, 
was covered with the purple-colored saxifrage in blos- 
som, with mosses, and with sorrel, and the grass was 
two to three inches long. The men were sent out twice 
a week to collect the sorrel, and in a few minutes enough 
could be procured to make a salad for dinner. After 
being mixed with vinegar it was regularly served out 
to the men. The English garden seeds that had been 
sown got on but slowly, and did not yield any produce 
in time to be used. 

On the 30th of June Wm. Scott, a boatswain's mate, 
who had been afflicted with scurvy, diarrhoea, &c., 
died, and was buried on the 2d of July — a slab ol 
sandstone bearing an inscription carved by Dr. Fisher, 
being erected over his grave. 

From observations made on the tide dui-ing two 
months, it appears that the greatest rise and fall here 
is four feet four inches. A large pile of stones was 
erected on the 14th of July, upon the most conspicuous 
hill, containing the usual notices, coins, &c., and on a 
large stone an inscription was left, notifying the winter 
ihg of the ships here. 



PARRT^S FlEfiT TOTAGE. 9^ 

On the 1st of August, tlie ships, which had been pre- 
viously warped out, got clear of the harbor, and found 
a channel, both eastward and westward, clear of ice, 
about three or four miles in breadth along the land. 

On the 6th they landed on the island, and in the 
course of the night killed fourteen hares and a number 
of glaucous gulls, which were found with their young 
on the top of a precipitous, insulated rock. 

On the 9th the voyagers had an opportunity of ob- 
serving an instance of the violent pressure that takes 
place occasionally by the collision of heavy ice. " Tw^o 
pieces," says Dr. Fisher, " that happened to come in 
contact close to us, pressed so forcibly against one an- 
other that one of them, although forty-two feet thick, 
and at least three times that in length and breadth, was 
forced up on its edge on the top of another piece of ice. 
But even this is nothing when compared with the pres- 
sure that must have existed to produce the effects that 
we see along the shore, for not only heaps of earth and 
stones several tons weight are forced up, but hummocks 
of ice, from fifty to sixty feet thick, are piled up on the 
beach. It is unnecessary to remark that a ship, although 
fortified as well as wood and iron could make her, would 
have but little chance of withstanding such over- 
whelming force." 

This day a musk-ox was shot, which weighed more 
\han 700 lbs.; the carcass, when skinned and cleaned, 
yielding 421 lbs. of meat. The flesh did not taste so 
very strong of musk as had been represented. 

The ships made but slow progress, being still thickly 
beset with floes of ice, 40 or 50 feet thick, and had to 
make fast for security to hummocks of ice on the beach. 

On the 15th and 16th they were off" the southwest 
point of the island, but a survey of the locality from 
the precipitous cliff of Cape Dundas, presented the 
same interminable barrier of ice, as far as the eye could 
reach. A bold high coast was sighted to the southwest, 
to which the name of Bank's Land was given. 

Captain Parry states that on the 23d the ships re- 
ceived by far the heaviest shocks they had experienced 



lOO PROGRESS 01? ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

during the voyage and performed six miles of the most 
difficult navigation he had ever known among ice. 

Two musk bulls were shot on the 24th by jDartiea who 
landed, out of a herd of seven which were seen. They 
were ligliter than the first one shot — weighing only 
about 360 lbs. From the number of skulls and skele- 
tons of these animals met with, and their capabilities 
of enduring the rigor of the climate, it seems probable 
that they do not migrate southward, but winter on this 
island. 

Attempts were still made to work to the eastward, 
but on the 25th, from want of wind, and the closeness 
of the ice, the ships were obliged to make fast again, 
without having orainod above a mile after several hours' 
labor. A fresh ])reeze springing up on the 26th opened 
a passage along shore, and the ships made sail to the 
eastward, and in the evening were off their old quarters 
in Winter Harbor. On the following evening, after a 
tine run, they were off the east end of Melville Islind. 
Lieut. Parry, this day, announced to the officers and 
crew that after due consideration and consultation, it 
had been found useless to prosecute their researches 
farther westward, and therefore endeavors would be 
made in a more southerly direction, failing in which, 
the expedition would return to England. Regent Inlet 
and the southern shores ffcnerallv, were found so blocked 
up with ice, tliat the return to England was on the 30th 
of August publicly announced. This day, Navy Board 
and Admiralty Inlets were passed, and on the 1st of 
September the vessels got clear of Barrow's Strait, and 
reached BafHn's Bay on the 5th. They fell in with a 
whaler belonging to Hull, from whom they learned the 
news of the death of George the Third and the Duke 
of Kent, and that eleven vessels liaving been lost in the 
ice last year, fears were entertained for their safety. 
The Friendship, another Hull whaler, informed them 
that in company with the Truelove, she had looked into 
Smith's Sound that summer. The Alexander, of Aber- 
deen, one of the ships employed on the former voyage 
of discovery to these seas, had also entered Lancaster 



PARRY S SECOND VOYAGE. 101 

Sound. After toiiching at Clyde's E-iver, where tliey 
uiet a good-natured tribe of Esquimaux, the ships made 
the best of their way across the Atlantic, and after a 
somewhat boisterous passage, Commodore Parry landed 
at Peterhead on the 30th of October, and, accompanied 
by Capt. Sabine and Mr. Hooper, posted to London. 



Parry's Second Yoyage, 1821 — 1823. 

The experience which Capt. Parry had formed in his 
previt)us voyage, led him to entertain the opinion that 
a communication might be found between Pegent Inlet 
and Roe's Welcome, or through Repulse Bay, and thence 
to the northwestern shores. The following are his re- 
marks : — " On an inspection of the charts I think it 
will also appear probable that a communication will 
one day be found to exist between this inlet (Prince 
Regent's) and Hudson's Bay, either through the broad 
and unexplored channel called Sir Thomas Roe's Wel- 
come, or through Repulse Bay, which has not yet been 
satisfactorily examined. It is also probable that a chan- 
nel will be found to exist between the western land and 
the northern coast of America." Again, in another 
place, he says : — " Of the existence of a northwest 
passage to the Pacific it is now scarcely possible to 
doubt, and from the succesr which attended our efforts 
in 1819, after passing thr v>ugh Sir James Lancaster's 
Sound, we were not unreasonable in anticipating its 
complete accomplishment. But the season in which it 
is practicable to navigate the Polar Seas does not exceed 
seven weeks. From aE that we observed it seems desir- 
able that ships endeavoring to reach the Pacific Ocean 
by this route should keep if possible on the coast of 
America, and the lower in latitude that coast may be 
found, the more favorable will it prove for the purpose ; 
hence Cumberland Strait, Sii' Thomas Roe's Welcome, 
and Repulse Bay appear to be the points most worthy 
of attention. I cannot, therefore, but consider that any 
expedition equipped by Great Britain with this view 



102 PROGRESS OF AliOTlO DISCOVERY. 

ought to employ its best energies in attempting to pene- 
trate fi'om the eastern coast of America along its north- 
ern shore. In consequence of the partial success which 
has hitherto attended our attempts, the whalers have 
already extended their views, and a new field has been 
opened for one of the most lucrative branches of our 
commerce, and what is scarcely of less importance, one 
of the most valuable nm-series for seamen which Great 
Britain possesses."* 

Pleased with his former zeal and enterprise, and in 
order to give him an opportunity of testing the truth 
of his observations, a few months after he returned home, 
the Admiralty gave Parry the command of another ex- 
pedition, with instructions to proceed to Hudson's Strait, 
and penetrate to the westward, until in Repulse Bay, 
or on some other part of the shores of Hudson's Bay to 
the north of Wager River, he should reach the western 
coast of the continent. Failing in these quarters, he 
was to keep along the coast, carefully examining every 
bend or inlet, which should appear likely to afford a 
practicable passage to the westward. 

The vessels commissioned, with their officers and 
crews, were the following. Several of the officers of the 
former expedition were promoted, and those who had 
been on the last voyage with Parry I have marked with 
an asterisk : — 

Commander — *W. E. Parry. 

Chaplain and Astronomer — Rev. Geo. Fisher, (was 

in the Dorothea, under Capt. Buchan, in 1818.) 
Lieutenants — "^J. ISTias and *A. Reid. 
Surgeon — *J. Edwards. 
Purser — *W. H. Hooper. 
Assistant-Surgeon — J. Skeocli. 
Midshipmen — *J. C. Ross, *J. Bushnan, J. Hender 

son, F. R. M. Crozier. ' 

*Pany's First Voya«]:e, vol. ii, p. 240. 



parry's secckd voyage. 103 

Greenland Pilots — *J. Allison, master ; G. Crawfiird^ 

mate. 
47 Petty Officers, Seamen, &c. 

Total complement, 60. 

Hecla, 

Commander — G. F. Lyon. 
Lieutenants — *H. P. Hoppner and *C. Palmer. 
Surgeon — *A. Fisher. 
Purser — J. Germain. 
Assistant-Surgeon — A. M'Laren. 
Midshipmen — *W. N. Griffiths, J. Sherer, C. Rich- 
ards, E. J. Bird. 
Greenland Pilots — *G. Fife, master; *A. Elder, mate. 
4Q Petty Officers, seamen, &c. 

Total complement, 58. 

Lieutenant Lyon, the second in command, had ob 
tained some reputation from his travels in Tripoli, 
Mourzouk, and other parts of ISTorthern Africa, and was 
raised to the rank of Commander, on his appointment 
to the Hecla, and received his promotion as Captain, 
when the exj)edition returned. 

The ships were accompanied as far as the ice by 
the l^autilus transport, freighted with provisions and 
stores, which were to be transhipped as soon as room 
was found for them. 

The vessels got away from the little ITore early on 
the 8th of May, 1821, but meeting with strong gales 
off the Greenland coast, and a boisterous passage, did 
not fall in with the ice until the middle of June. 

On the 17th of June, in a heavy gale from the south- 
ward, the sea stove and carried away one of the quar- 
ter boats of the Hecla. On the following day, in lat. 
60° 53' ]Sr., long. 61° 39' W., they made the pack or 
main body of ice, having many large bergs in and 
near it. On the 19th, Resolution Island, at the en- 
trance of Hudson's Strait, was seen distant sixty-four 
miles. Capt. Lyon states, that during cne of the 



•04 PEO{>Rl!^S OB AECTIC DISOOVMlt. 

watches, a large fragment was observed to fall fronv 
an iceberg near the Heel a, which threw up the watei 
to a great height, sending fortli at the same time a 
noise like the report of a great gun. From this pe- 
riod to the 1st of July, the ships were occupied in 
clearing the I^autilus of her stores, preparatory to 
her return home, occasionally made fast to a berg, or 
driven out to sea by gales. On the 2d, after running 
through heavy ice, they again made Resolution Island, 
and shaping their course for the Strait, were soon in- 
troduced to the company of some unusually large ice- 
bergs. The altitude of one was 258 feet above tlio 
surface of the sea ; its total height, therefore, allowing 
one-seventh only to be visible, must have been aboul 
1806 feet! This however, is supposing the base un 
der water not to spread beyond the mass above water 
The vessels had scarcely drifted past this floating 
mountain, when the eddy tide carried them with great 
rapidity among a cluster of eleven bergs of huge 
size, and having a beautiful diversity of form. The 
largest of these was 210 feet above the water. The 
floe ice was running wildly at the rate of three miles 
an hour, sweeping the vessels past the bergs, against 
any one of which, they might have received incalcu- 
lable injury. An endeavor was made to make the 
ships fast to one of them, (for all of them were aground,) 
in order to ride out the tide, but it proved unsuccess- 
ful, and the Fury had much difficulty in sending a 
boat for some men who were on a small berg, making 
holes for her ice anchors. They were therefore swept 
past and soon beset. Fifty-four icebergs were counted 
from the mast-head. 

On the 3d, they made some progress through very 
heavy floes ; but on the tide turning, the loose ice flew 
together with such rapidity and noise, that there was 
barely time to secure the ships in a natural dock, be- 
fore the two streams met, and even then they received 
some heavy shocks. Water was procured for use 
from the pools in tiie floe to which the ships were 
made fast; and this being the first time of doing so, 



j-'Arky's second voyage. 105 

afforded great amusement to the novices, who, even 
when it was their period of rest, preferred pelting 
each other with snow-balls, to going to bed. Buffet 
ing with eddies, strong currents, and dangerous bergs, 
they were kept in a state of anxiety and danger, for 
a week or ten days. On one occasion, with the pros- 
pect of being driven on shore, the pressure they ex- 
perienced was so great, that five hawsers, six inches 
thick, were carried away, and the best bower anchor 
-of the Hecla was wrenched from the bows, and broke 
off at the head of the shank, with as much ease as if, 
instead of weighing upward of a ton, it had been of 
crockery ware. For a week they were embayed by 
the ice, and during this period they saw three strange 
ships, also beset, under Resolution Island, which they 
contrived to join on the 16th of July, making fast to 
a floe near them. They proved to be the Hudson's Ba}' 
Company's traders. Prince of Wales, and Eddystone, 
with the Lord Wellington, chartered to convey 160 
natives of Holland,. who were proceeding to settle on 
Lord Selkirk's estate, at the Red River. " While 
nearing these vessels, (says Lyon,) we observed the 
settlers waltzing on deck, for above two hours, the 
men in old-fashioned gray jackets, and the women 
wearing long-eared mob caps, like those used by the 
Swiss peasants. As we were surrounded by ice, and 
the thermometer was at the freezing point, it may be 
supposed that this ball, ah vero fresco^ afforded us 
much amusement." The Hudson's Bay ships had 
left England twenty days after the expedition. 

The emigrant ship had been hampered nineteen 
days among the ice before she joined the others ; 
and as this navigation was new to her captain and crew, 
they almost despaired of ever getting to their jour- 
iiey's end, so varied and constant had been their im- 
pediments. The Dutchmen had, however, behaved 
very philosophically during this period, and seemed 
determined on being merry, in spite of the weather 
and- the dangers. Several marriages had taken place, 
the sui-geon, who was acompanying them to the col 



106 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

ony, officiating as clergyman,) and many more were 
in agitation ; each happy couple always deferring the 
ceremony until a line day allowed of an evening ball, 
which was only terminated by a fresh breeze, or a fall 
of snow.* On the ITth, the ships were separated by 
the ice, and they saw no more of their visitors. On 
the 2l6t, they were only off the Lowe*r Savage Islands. 
In the evening they saw a very large bear lying on a 
piece of ice, and two boats were instantly sent off in 
chase. They approached very close before he took 
to the water, when he swam rapidly, and made long 
springs, turning boldly to face his pursuers. It was 
with difficulty he was captured. As these animals, 
although very fat and bulky, sink the instant they die, 
he was lashed to a boat, and brought alongside the 
ship. On hoisting him in, they w^ere astonished to 
find that his weight exceeded sixteen hundred pounds, 
being one of the largest ever killed. Two instances, 
only, of larger bears being shot are recorded, and 
these were by Barentz's crew, in his third voyage, at 
Cherie Island, to which they gave the name of Bear 
Island. The two bears killed then, measured twelve 
and thirteen feet, while this one only measured eight 
feet eight inches, from the snout to the insertion of the 
tail. The seamen ate the flesh without experiencing 
any of those baneful effects which old navigators at- 
tribute to it, and which are stated to have made three 
of Barentz's people " so sick that we expected they 
would have died, and their skins peeled off from 
head to foot." Bruin was very fat, and having pro- 
cured a tub of blubber from the carcass, it was thrown 
over board, and the smell soon attracted a couple 
of walruses, the first that had been yet seen. 

They here fell in with a numerous body of the Es 
quimaux, who visited them from the shore. In lesa 
Ihan an hour the ships were beset with thirty "ka- 
vaks," or men's canoes, and five of the women's large 
boats, or " oomiaks." Some of the latter held up- 
ward oi' twenty women. A most noisy but merry 
l>:irter instantly tor)k place, the crew being as anxious 

* Lj'ou's Private Jouviml. p. 11. 



pakky's second voyage. 107 

to purcLase Esquimaux curiosities, as the natives were 
to procure iron and European toys. 

■It is quite out of my power, (observes Captain 
Lyon,) to describe the shouts, yells,, and laughter of 
the savages, or the confusion which existed for two or 
three hours. The females were at first very shy, and 
unwilling to come on the ice, but bartered every thing 
from their boats. This timidity, however, soon wore 
off, and they, in the end, became as noisy and bois- 
terous as the men." " It is scarcely possible, (he adds) 
to conceive any thing more ugly or disgusting tlian 
the countenances of the old women, who had inflamed 
eyes, wrinkled skin, black teeth, and, in fact, such a 
forbidding set of features as scarcely could be called 
human ; to which might be added their dress, which 
was such as gave them the appearance of aged ourang- 
outangs. Frobisher's crew may be pardoned for hav- 
ing, in such superstitious times as a. d. 1576, taken 
one of these ladies for a witch, of whom it is said, 
' The old wretch whom our sailors supposed to be a 
witch, had her buskins pulled off, to see if she was 
cloven-footed ; and being very ugly and deformed, we 
let her go.' " 

In bartering they have a singular custom of ratity- 
ing the bargain, by licking the article all over before 
it is put away in security. Captain Lyon says he fre- 
quently shuddered at seeing the children draw a razor 
over their tongue, as unconcernedly as if it had been 
an ivory paper-knife. I cannot forbear quoting here 
some humorous passages from his journal, which stand 
out in relief to the scientific and nautical parts of the 
narrative. 

" The strangers were so well pleased in our society, 
that they showed no wish to leave us, and when the 
market had quite ceased, they began dancing and 
playing with our people, on the ice alongside. This 
exercise set many of their noses bleeding, and discov- 
ered to us a most nasty custom, which accounted for 
tlieir gory faces, and which was, that as fast as the 
blood ran down, they scraped it with the fingers 

7 E 



108 PROGRESS OF AliCTIC DI6C0V£RY. 

into their mouths, appearing to consider it as a re- 
freshment, or dainty, if we might judge by the zest 

with which they smacked their lips at each supply." 
* *♦* * * * * * 

" In order to amuse our new acquaintances as much 
as possible, the fiddler was sent on the ice, where he 
instantly found a most delightful set of dancers, of 
whom some of the women kept pretty good time. 
Their only figure consisted in stamping and jumping 
with all their might. Our musician, who was a lively 
fellow, soon caught the infection, and began cutting 
capers also. In a short time every one on the floe, 
officers, men, and savages, were dancing together, and 
exhibited one of the most extraordinary sights I ever 
witnessed. One of our seamen, of a fresh, ruddy 
complexion, excited the admiration of all the young 
females, who patted his face, and danced around him 
wherever he went. 

" The exertion of dancing so exhilarated the Esqui- 
maux, that they had the appearance of being boister- 
ously drunk, and played many extraordinary pranks. 
Among others, it was a favorite joke to run slily be- 
hind the seamen, and shouting loudly in one ear, to 
give them at the same time a very smart slap on the 
other. While looking on, I was sharply saluted in this 
manner, and, of course, was quite startled, to the 
great amusement of the bystanders : our cook, who 
was a most active and unwearied jumper, became so 
great a favorite, that every one boxed his ears so 
soundly, as to oblige the poor man to retire from such 
boisterous marks of approbation. Among other 
sports, some of the Esquimaux rather roughly, but 
with great good humor, challenged our people to 
wrestle. One man, in particular, who liad thrown sev- 
eral of his countrymen, attacked an officer of a very 
strong make, bat the poor savage was instantly thrown, 
and with no very easy fall ; yet, although every one 
was laughing at him, he bore it with exemplary*^ good 
humor. The same officer afforded us mucli diversion 
by teaching a large party of women to bow. courtesy 



PARRY'S SECOJSD VOYAGE. 109 

hliakc bands, turn their toes out, and perform sun- 
dry other polite accomplishments ; the whole party 
master and pupils, preserving the strictest gravity. 

" Toward midnight all our men, except the watch on 
deck, turned in to their beds, and the fatigued and 
hungry Esquimaux returned to their boats to take their 
supper, which consisted of lumps of raw flesh and blul)- 
ber of seals, birds, entrails, &c. ; licking their fingers 
with great zest, and with knives or fingers scraping the 
blood and grease which ran down their chins into their 
mouths." 

Many other parties of the natives were fallen in with 
during the slow progress of the ships, between Salisbury 
and Nottingham Islands, who were equally as eager to 
beg, barter, or thieve ; and the mouth was the general 
rejDOsitory of most of the treasures they received ; nee- 
dles, pins, nails, buttons, beads, and other small etcete- 
ras, being indiscriminately stowed there, but detracting 
in nowise from their volubility of speech. On the 13th 
of August the weather being calm and fine, norwhals or 
sea-unicorns, were very numerous about the ships, and 
boats were sent, but without success, to strike one. 
There were sometimes as many as twenty of these 
beautiful fish in a shoal, lifting at times their immense 
horn above the water, and at others showing their 
glossy backs, which were spotted in the manner of 
coacli dogs in England. The length of these fish is 
about fifteen feet, exclusive of the horn, which averages 
five or six more. 

Captain Parry landed and slept on Southampton Isl 
and. His boat's crew cauglit in holes on the beach 
sufficient sillocks, or young coal-fish, to serve for two 
meals for the whole ship's company. During the night 
white whales were seen lying in hundreds close to the 
rocks, probably feeding on the sillocks. After carefully 
examining Duke of York Bay, the ships got into the 
Frozen Strait of Middleton on the morning of the 20th, 
and an anxious day was closed by passing an opening 
to the southward, which was found to be Sir Thomas 
Roe's Welcome, and heaving to for the night off a baj 



1 10 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

to the northwest. The ships got well in to Repulse 
Bay on the 22d5 and a careful examination of its shores 
was made by the boats. 

Captains Parry and Lyon, with several officers from 
each ship, landed and explored the northern shores, 
while a boat examined the head of the bay. The wa- 
ters of a long cove are described by Captain Lyon as 
being absolutely hidden by the quantities of young 
eider-ducks, which, under the direction of their moth- 
ers, were making their first essays in swimming. 

Captain Lyon with a boat's crew made a trip of a 
couple of days along some of the indents of the bay, 
and discovered an inlet, which, however, on being en- 
tered subsequently by the ships, proved only to be the 
dividing channel between an island and the main-land, 
about six miles in length by one in breadth. Proceed- 
ing to the northward by Hurd's channel, they expe- 
rienced a long rolling ground swell setting against them 
On the 28th, ascending a steep mountain. Captain 
Lyon discovered a noble bay, subsequently named Gor i 
Bay, in which lay a few islands, and toward this the ' 
directed their course. 

Captain Parry, who had been two days absent wit i 
boats exjDloring the channel and shores of the strait, re- 
turned on the 29th,, but set off again on the same da / 
with six boats to sound and examine more minutel;'. 
When Parry returned at night, Mr. Griffiths, of tl e 
Heel a, brought on board a large doe, which he had 
killed while swimming (among large masses of ice) fro, u 
isle to isle ; two others and a faw^n were procured ( q 
shore by the Fury's people. The game law^s, as thv y 
were laid down on the former voyage while winteriv 3 
at Melville Island, were once more put in force. The m 
" enacted that for the jDurjDOse of economizing the shi<-,*s 
provisions, all deer or musk-oxen killed should ue 
served out in lieu of the usual allowance of meat. 
Hares, ducks, and other birds were not at this time to 
be included. As an encouragement to sportsmen, the 
head, legs, and offal of the larger animals were to be 
the perquisites of those who procured the carcasses foi 



parry's second voyage. Ill 

the general good." " In the animals of this day (ob- 
serves Lyon) we were convinced that our sportsmen 
had not forgotten the latitude to which their perquisites 
might legally extend, for the necks were made so long 
as to encroach considerably on the vertebrae of the 
back ; a manner of amputating the heads which had 
been learned during the former voyage, and, no doubt 
would be strictly acted up to in the present one." 

While the ships on the 30th were proceeding through 
this strait, having to contend with heavy wind and 
wild ice, which with an impetuous tide ran against the 
rocks with loud crashes, at the rate of five knots in the 
center stream ; four boats towing astern were torn 
away by the ice, and, with the men in them, were for 
some time in great danger. The vessels anchored for 
the night in a small nook, and weighing at daylight 
on the 31st, they stood to the eastward, but Gore Bay 
was found closely packed with ice, and most of the in- 
lets they passed were also beset. 

A prevalence of fog, northerly wind, and heavy ice 
in floes of some miles in circumference, now carried 
.the ships, in spite of constant labor and exertions, in 
three days, back to the very spot in Fox's Channel, 
where a month ago they had commenced their opera- 
tions. It was not till the 5th of September, that they 
could again get forward, and then by one of the usual 
changes in the navigation of these seas, the ships ran 
well to the northeast unimpeded, at the rate of six 
knots an hour, anchoring for the night at the mouth of 
a large opening, which was named Lyon Inlet. The 
next day they proceeded about twenty-five miles up 
this inlet, which appeared to be about eight miles broad. 
Captain Parry pushed on with two boats to examine 
tlie head of the inlet, taking provisions for a week, 
lie returned on the 14th, having failed in finding any 
outlet to the place he had been examining, which waa 
very extensive, full of fiords and rapid overfalls of the 
tide. He had procured a sufficiency of game to aflbrd 
his people a hot supper every evening, which, after the 
constant labor of the daf, was highly acceptable. He 



112 



PROGKESS OF AKCTIC DISCO VEK"V. 



fell in also with a small party of natives m Uo displayed 
the usual thieving propensities. 

Animal food of all kinds was found to ho very plen- 
tiful in this locality. A fine salmon trout -pvas brought 
down by one of the ofiicers from a lake in the moun- 
tains. The crew of the Hecla killed in a fortnight four 
deer, forty hares, eighty-two ptarmigan, fifty ducks, 
three divers, three foxes, three ravens, four seals, er- 
mines, marmottes, mice, &c. Two of the seals killed 
were immense animals of the bearded species {Plioca 
harhata^ Yerj fat, weighing about eight or nine cwt.; 
the others were the common species, {P. vitulina.) 

Captain Parry again left in boats, on the 16th, to ex- 
amine more carefully the land that had been passed so 
rapidly on the 5th and 6th. Not finding him return 
on the 24th, Captain Lyon ran down the coast to meet 
him, and by burning blue lights, fell in with him at 
ten that night. It appeared he had been frozen up 
for two days on the second evening after leaving. 
When he got clear he. ran down to, and sailed round. 
Gore Bay, 9t that time perfectly clear of ice, but by 
the next mo^-ning it was quite filled with heavy pieces, 
which much impeded his return. Once more he was 
frozen up Sv. a small bay, where he was detained three 
days ; wr<».n, finding there was no chance of getting 
out, in consequence of the rapid formation of young 
ice, by ten hours' severe labor, the boats were carried 
over a low point of land, a mile and a half wide, and 
once more launched. 

On the 6th of October, the impediments of ice con- 
tinuing to increase, being met with in all its formations 
of sludges or young ice, pancake ice and bay ice, a 
small open ba}^ within a cape of land, forming the 
southeast extremity of an island oif Lyon Inlet, was 
sounded, and being found to be safe anchorage the ships 
were brought in, and, ft'om the indications which were 
setting in, it was finally determined to secure them there 
for the winter ; by means of a canal half a mile long, 
which was cut, they were taken further into the bay. 
The island was named Winter Isle. 

Preparations w^ve tiow made for occupation and 



parby's second voyage. 113 

Simusement, so as to pass awaj pleasantly the period 
of detention. A good stock of theatrical dresses and 
properties having been laid in by the officers before 
leaving England, arrangements were made for perform- 
ing plays fortnightly, as on their last winter residence, 
as a means of amusing the seamen, and in some degree 
to break the tedious monotony of their confinement. As 
there could be no desire or hope of excelling, every 
uffijcer's name was readily entered on the list. of dra- 
matis per sonoe^ Captain Lyon kindly undertaking the 
difficult office of manager. Those ladies (says Lyon) 
who had cherished the growth of their beards and 
whiskers, as a defense against the inclemency of the 
climate, now generously agreed to do away wdth such 
unfeminine ornaments, and every thing bade fair for a 
most stylish theater. 

As a curiosity, I may here put on record the play 
bill for the evening. I have added the ship to which 
each officer belonged. 

THEATEE KOYAL, 

WINTER ISLE. 



The Public are respectfully informed that this little, 
yet elegant Theater, will open for the season on Fri- 
day next, the 9th of November, 1821, when will be 
performed Sheridan's celebrated Comedy of 

THE RIVALS. 

Sir Anthony Absolute Captain Parry, {Fury.) 
Captain Absolute - - Captain Lyon, {S'ecla.) 
Sir Luoius 0^ Trigger^ Mr. Crozier, {Fury^ 
Faulhland^ - - - - Mr. J. Edwards, (Fury.) 

Acres, Mr. J. Henderson, (Fury.) 

Fay, ----.._ Lieut, lloppner, (ITecla.) 

David, - Lieut. Reid, (Fury.) 

Mrs. Malaprop, - - Mr. C. Richards, {Mecla) 

Julia, Mr. W. H. Hooper, {Fury.) 

Lydia Languish, - - Mr. J. Sherer, {Hecla^ 
Lucy, MA\y^ .M.ogg,{GVlc of HeclaS 



114 PR0GKES6 OF AKCTIO DISCOVERT. 

Songs b}^ Messrs. C. Palmer, (Ilecla,) and J. Hen- 
derson, will be introduced in the course of the eve- 
ning. 

On the lYth of December, a shivering set of actors 
performed to a great-coated, yet very cold audience, 
the comedy of the " Poor Gentleman." A burst of 
true English feeling was exhibited during the perform 
ance of this play. In the scene where Lieut. Worth- 
ington and Corporal Foss recount in so animated a 
manner their former achievements, advancing at the 
same time, and huzzaing for " Old England," the 
whole audience, with one accord, rose and gave three 
most hearty cheers. They then sat down, and the 
play continued uninterrupted. 

On Christmas Eve, in order to keep the people 
quiet and sober, two farces were performed, and the 
phantasmagoria, (which had been kindly presented 
anonymously to the ships before leaving, by a lady,) 
exhibited, so that the night passed merrily away. 

The coldness of the weather proved no bar to the 
performance of a play at the appointed time. If it 
amused the seamen, the purpose was answered, but it 
was a cruel task to performers. " In our green-room, 
(says Lyon,) which was as much warmed as any other 
part of the Theater, the thermometer stood at 16°, and 
on a table which was placed over a stove, and about 
six inches above it, the coffee froze in the cups. For 
my sins, I was obliged to be dressed in the height of 
the fashion, as Dick Dowlas^ in the " Heir at Law," 
and went through the last scene of the play with 
two of my lingers frost-bitten! Let those who have 
witnessed and admired the performances of a Young, 
answer if he could possibly ha /e stood so cold a recep- 
tion." 

Captain Parry also states in his Journal, " Among 
the recreations which afforded the highest gratifica* 
tion to several among us, I may mention the musical 
parties we were enabled to muster, and which assem- 
bled on stated evenings throughout the winter, altty- 



i>akry's second voyage. 115 

natelj in Commander Ljon's cabin, and in my own. 
More skiUful amateurs in music might well liave smiled 
at these, our humble concerts, but it will not incline 
them to think less of the science they admire, to be 
assured that, in these remote and desolate regions of 
the globe, it has often furnished us with the most 
pleasurable sensations which our situation was capable 
of affording ; for, independently of the mere gratifica- 
tion afforded to the ear by music, there is, perhaps, 
scarcely a person in the world really fond of it, in 
whose mind its sound is not more or less connected 
with ' his far distant home.' There are always some 
remembrances which render them inseparable, and 
those associations are not to be despised, which, while 
we are engaged in the performance of our duty, can 
still occasionally transport us into the social circle of 
our friends at home, in spite of the oceans that roll be- 
tween us." But their attention was not confined to 
mere amusements. Much to the credit of the seamen, 
an application was made in each ship for permission 
to open an evening school, which was willingly ac- 
ceded to. Almost every man could read, and some 
could write a little, but several found that, from long 
disuse, it was requisite to begin again. 

Mr, Halse volunteered to superintend the classes in 
theFury ; while Benjamin White,aseaman, who had been 
educated at Christ's Hospital, officiated as schoolmaster 
in the Hecla, and those best qualified to assist aided 
in the instruction of their shipmates, who made rapid 
progress under their tuition. On Christmas Day, Capt. 
Lyon states that he received sixteen copies from men, 
who, two months before, scarcely knew their letters. 
These little speciniens were all well written, and sent 
with as much pride as if the writers had been good 
little schoolboys, instead of stout and excellent seamen. 

An observatory was erected on shore, for carrying 
on magnetical, astronomical, and other scientific opera- 
tions. Foxes were very plentiful about the ships ; fifteen 
were caught in one trap in four hours on the night of 
the 25th of October, and above one hundred were 



116 niOGRKSS OF ARCTIC DISOOVKRY. 

either trapped or killed in the course of three months, 
and jet there seemed but little diminution in their 
numbers. Captain Lyon says he found them not bad 
eating, the flesh much resembling that of kid. A pack 
of thirteen wolves came occasionally to have a look at 
the ships, and on one occasion broke into a snow-house 
alongside, and walked off with a couj)le of Esquimaux 
dogs confined there. Bears now and then also made 
their appearance. 

A very beautiful ermine walked on board the ITecla 
one day, and was caught in a small trap placed on the 
deck, certainly the first of these animals which was 
ever taken alive on board a shi]3 400 yards from the 
land. The ravenous propensities of even some of the 
smallest members of the animal kingdom are exempli- 
fied by the following extract : — 

" We had for some time observed that in the fire- 
hole, which was kept open in the ice alongside, a count- 
less multitude of small shrimps were constantly rising 
near the surface, and we soon found that in twenty-four 
hours they would clean, in the most beautiful manner, 
the skeletons." 

After attending divine service on Christmas day, the 
officers and crews sat down to the luxury of joints of 
English roast beef, which had been kept untainted by 
being frozen, and the outside rubbed with salt. Cran- 
berry pies and puddings, of every shape and size, with 
a full allowance of spirits, followed, and, probably the 
natural attendance of headaches succeeded, for the 
next morning it was deemed expedient to send all the 
people for a run on the ice, in order to put them to 
rights ; but thick weather coming on, it became neces- 
sary to recall them, and, postponing the dinner hour, 
they were all danced sober by one o'clock, the fiddler 
being, fortunately, quite as he should be. During this 
curious ball, a witty fellow attended as an old cake 
woman, with lamps of frozen snow in a bucket ; and 
such was tlie demand for his pies on this occasion, tliat 
he was obliged to replenish pretty tVequently. The 
year liad now (frawn to a close, and all enjoyed excel- 



tAERY^S SECOND VOtAGlbi. 117 

lent health, and were blessed with good spirits, and zeal 
for the renewal of their arduous exertions in the sum- 
mer. 

[N'o signs of scurvy, the usual plague of such voy- 
ages, had occurred, and by the plans of Captain Parry, 
as carried out on the former voyage, a sufficiency of 
mustard and cress was raised between decks to afford 
all hands a salad once, and sometimes twice a week. 
The cold now became intense. Wine froze in the bot- 
tles. Port was congealed into thin pink laminae, which 
lay loosely, and occupied the whole length of the bot- 
tle. White wine, on the contrary, froze into a solid 
and perfectly transparent mass, resembling amber. 

On the 1st of February the monotony of their life 
was varied by the arrival of a large party of Esqui- 
maux, and an interchange of visits thenceforward took 
place with this tribe, which, singularly enough, were 
proverbial for their honesty. Ultimately, however, 
they began to display some thievish propensities, for 
on one evening in March a most shocking theft was 
committed, which was no less than the last piece of 
English corned beef from the midshipmen's mess. 
Had it been an 181b. carronade, or even one of the an- 
chors, the thieves would have been welcome to it ; but 
to purloin English beef in such a country was unpar- 
donable. 

'On the 15th of March Captain Lyon, Lieutenant 
Palmer, and a party of men, left the ship, with pro- 
visions, tents, &c., in a large sledge, for an excursion 
of three or four days, to examine the land in the neigh- 
borhood of the ships. 

The first night's encampment was anything but com- 
fortable. Their tent they found so cold, that it was 
determined to make a cavern in the snow to sleep in ; 
and digging this afforded so good an opportunity of 
warming themselves, that the only shovel was lent from 
one to the other as a particular favor. After digging 
it of sufficient size to contain them all in a sitting pos- 
ture, by means of the smoke r>f a fire they managed to 
raise the temperature to S-'-^, and, closing the entranca 



118 l^nOGRESS 01^ AUCTTO DISCOVERY. 

with blocks of snow, crept into their blanket bags and 
tried to sleep, with the pleasant reflection that their 
roof might fall in and bury them all, and that their one 
spade was the only means of liberation after a night's 
drift of snow. 

They woke next morning to encounter a heavy gale 
and drift, and found their sledge so embedded in the 
snow that they could not get at it, and in the attempt 
their faces and extremities were most painfully frost- 
bitten. The thermometer was at 32° below zero ; they 
could not, moreover, see a yard of the road ; yet to re- 
main appeared worse than to go forward — the last 
plan was, therefore, decided on. The tent, sledge, and 
luggage were left behind, and with only a few pounds 
of bread, a little rum, and a spade, the party again set 
out ; and in order to depict their sufferings, I must take 
up the narrative as related by the commander himself: 

"Not knowing where to go, we wandered among 
the heavy hummocks of ice, and suffering from cold, 
fatigue and anxiety, were soon completely bewildered. 
Several of our party now began to exhibit symptoms 
of that horrid kind of insensibility wjiich is the pre- 
lude to sleep. They all professed extreme willingness 
to do what they were told in order to keep in exercise, 
but none obeyed ; on the contrary, they reeled about 
like drunken men. The faces of several were severely 
frost-bitten, and some had for a considerable time lost 
sensation in their fingers and toes ; yet they made not 
the slightest exertion to rub the parts affected, and even 
discontinued their general custom of warming each 
other on observing a discoloration of the skin. Mr. 
Palmer employed the 23eople in building a snow wall, 
ostensibly as a shelter from the wind, but in fact to 
give them exercise, when standing still must have 
proved fatal to men in our circumstances. My atten- 
tion was exclusively directed to Sergeant Speckman, 
who, having been repeatedly warned that his nose was 
frozen, had ]mid no attention to it, owing to the state 
of stupefact'ou into which he had fallen. The frost- 
bite had now extended over rmo ship of his face, which 



PARET^S SECOND VOTAGEI. 119 

fras trozen as hard as a mask ; the eyelids were stiff, 
and one corner of the upper lip so drawn up as to 
expose the teeth and gums. My hands being still 
warm, I had the happiness of restoring the circulation, 
after which I used all my endeavors to 'keep the poor 
fellow in motion ; but he complained sadly of giddi- 
ness and dimness of sight, and was so weak as to be 
unable to walk without assistance. His case was so 
alarming, that I expected every'moment he would lie 
down, never to rise again. 

" Our prospect now became every moment more 
gloomy, and it was but too probable that four of our 
party would be unable to survive another hour. Mr. 
Palmer, however, endeavored, as well as myself, to 
cheer the people up, but it was a faint attempt, as we 
had not a single hope to give them. Every piece of 
ice, or even of small rock or stone, was now supposed 
to be the ships, and we had great difficulty in prevent- 
ing the men from running to the different objects which 
attracted them, and consequently losing themselves in 
the drift. In this state, while Mr. Palmer was running 
round us to warm himself, he suddenly pitched on a 
new beaten track, and as exercise was indispensable, 
we determined on following it, wherever it might lead 
us. Having taken the Sergeant under my coat, he re- 
covered a little, and we moved onward, when to our 
infinite joy we found that the path led to the ships." 

As the result of this exposure, one man had two of 
his fingers so badly frost-bitten as to lose a good deal 
of the flesh of the upper ends, and for many days it 
was feared that he would be obliged to have them am- 
putated. Quarter-master Carr, one of those who had 
been the most hardy while in the air, fainted twice on 
getting below, and every one had severe frost-bites in 
different parts of the body, which recovered after the 
usual loss of skin in these cases. 

One of the Esquimaux females, by name Igloolik, 
who plays a conspicuous part in the narrative, was a 
general favorite, being possessed of a large fund of 
useful information, having a p^ood voice and ear for 



120 PR0G11F.8S OV ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

fnusic, being an excellent seamstress, and having such 
a good idea of the hydrography and bearings of the 
neighboring sea-coasts, as to draw charts which guided 
Parry miic i in his future oj)erations, for he found her 
sketches to he in the main correct. She connected the 
land from their winter quarters to the northwest sea, 
rounding ar.d terminating the northern extremity of 
this part of America, by a large island, and a strait of 
sufficient magnitude to afford a safe passage for the 
ships. This little northwest passage, observes Lyon, 
set us all castle-building, and we already fancied the 
worst j)art of our voyage over ; or, at all events, that 
before half the ensuing summer was past, we should 
arrive at Akkoolee, the Esquimaux settlement on the 
western shore. Half-way between that coast and Re 
pulse Bay, Igloolik drew on her chart a lake of consid- 
erable size, having small streams running from it to 
the sea, on each side ; and the correctness of this infor- 
mation was fully proved by Rae in his recent expedi- 
tion in 1846. 

On the 13th of April their Esquimaux friends took 
their departure for other quarters ; towards the end of 
the month the crews completed the cutting of trenches 
round the vessels, in order that they might rise to their 
proper bearings previous to working in the holds, and 
the ships floated like corks on their native element, 
after their long imprisonment of 191 days. As the 
season appeared to be improving, another land expedi- 
tion was determined on, and Captain Lyon and Lieu- 
tenant Palmer, attended by a party of eight men, set 
oft* on the 8th of May, taking with them twenty days' 
provisions. Each man drew on a sledge 126 lbs., and 
the officers 95 lbs. a-piece. 

" Loaded as we were," says the leader, " it was with 
the greatest difficulty we made our way among and 
over the hummocks, ourselves and sledges taking some 
very unpleasant tumbles. It required two and a half 
nours to cross the ice, although the distance was not 
two miles, and we then landed on a small island, where 
we passed the n.^'^ht." 



PAllRY^S SECOKb VOYAafi. 121 

Several islands and shoals in the strait wer^- named 
Lird's Isles. At noon on the 11th, they camped at the 
head of a line bay, to which the name of Blake was 
given. In spite of all the care which had been taken 
by using crape shades, and other coverings for the eyes, 
live of the party became severely afflicted with snow 
blindness. Before evening two of the sufferers were 
quite blinded by the inflammation. Their faces, eyes, 
and even heads, being much swollen, and very red. 
Bathing would have afforded relief, but the sun did not 
produce a drop of water, and their stock of fuel being 
limited, they could only spare enough wood to thaw 
snow for their midday draught. 

As the morning of the 12th brought no change in the 
invalids, another day was lost. Toward evening, by 
breaking pieces of ice, and placing them in the full 
glare of the sun, sufficient water Avas obtained, both for 
drinking and for the sick to bathe their faces, which 
afforded them amazing relief, and on the morrow they 
were enabled to resume their journey. At noon the 
sun was sufiiciently powerful to afford the travelers a 
draught of water, without having to thaw it, as had 
hitherto been the case. 

For nearly three days after this, they were imprisoned 
in their low tent by a snow-storm, but on the morning 
of the 18th, they were enabled to sally out to stretch 
their legs, and catch a glimpse of the sun. After exam- 
ining many bays and indentations of the coast, the party 
returned to the ships on the evening of the 21st. A 
canal was now cut through the ice, to get the ships to 
the open water, in length 2400 feet, and varying in 
breadth from 60 to 197 feet. The average thickness of 
the ice was four feet, but in some places it was as much 
as twelve feet. This truly arduous task had occupied the 
crews for fifteen days, from six in the morning to eight 
in the evening ; but they labored at it with the greatest 
spirit and good humor, and it was concluded on the 18th 
of June, when the officers and men began to take leave 
of their several haunts and promenades, particularly 
the " garden " of each sliip, which had become favorite 



122 PKOaRESS OF AECTIC DISCOVERY. 

lounges during their nine months' detention. A iv t 
ill-fated bunting came near enough to be shot, and we e 
instantly roasted for a farewell supper, and bright vis- 
ions of active exertions on the water on the morrow 
were universally entertained. But the night dispelled 
all these airy castles, for with the morning's dawn they 
found that the whole body of ice astern of the ships 
had broke adrift, filled up the hard-wrought canal, and 
imprisoned them as firm as ever. 

Death now for the first time visited the crews. James 
Pringle, a seaman of the Hecla, fell from the mast-head 
to the deck, and was killed on the 18th of May. Wm. 
Souter, qnarter-master, and John Reid, Carpenter's 
mate, belonging to the Fury, died on the 26th and 27th, 
of natural causes. Toward the end of June, the sea 
began to clear rapidly to the eastward, and the bay ice 
soon gave way as far as where the ships were lying, and 
on the 2d of July they put to sea with a fresh breeze, 
after having been frozen in for 267 days. 

In making their way to the northward, they were fre- 
quently in much danger. On the 3d, the ice came 
down on the Hecla with such force as to carry her on 
board the Fury, by which the Hecla broke her best bower 
anchor, and cut her waist-boat in two. On the 4th, the 
pressure of the ice was so great as to break the Hecla 
adrift from three hawsers. Four or five men were each 
on separate pieces of ice, parted from the ships in tlie 
endeavor to run out a hawser. A heavy pressure closing 
the loose ice unexpectedly gave them a road on board 
again, or they must have been carried away by the 
stream to certain destruction. On the 8th, the Hecla 
had got her stream-cable out, in addition to the other 
hawsers, and made fast to the land ice, when a very 
lieavy and extensive floe took the ship on her broad 
side, and being backed by another large body of ice, 
gradually lifted her stem as if by the action of a wedge. 

" The weight every moment increasing, obliged us," 
says Captain Lyon, " to veer on the hawsers, whose fric- 
tion was so great as nearly to cut through the bitt-heads, 
and ultimately to set them on fire, so that it becamo 



parry's second voyage. 123 

requisite for people to attend with buckets of watei*. 
The pressure was at length too powerful for resistance, 
and the stream-cable, with two six and one iive-inch 
hawsers, all gave way at the same moment, three others 
soon following them. The sea was too full of ice to 
allow the ship to drive, and the only way in which she 
could yield to the enormous weight which oppressed her, 
was by leaning over on the land ice, while her stem at 
the same time was entirely lifted to above the height oi 
five feet out of the water. The lower deck beams now 
complained very much, and the whole frame of the 
ship underwent a trial which would have proved fatal 
to any less strengthened vessel. At the same moment, 
the rudder was unhung with a sudden jerk, which broke 
up the rudder-case, and struck the driver-boom with 
great force." 

From this perilous position she was released almost 
by a miracle, and the rudder re-hung. 

The ships a. last reached the island which had been so 
accurately described to them by the Esquimaux lady — 
Iglolik, where they came upon an encampment of 
120 Esquimaux, in tents. Captains Parry and Lyon 
and other officers made frequent exploring excursions 
along the shores of the Fury and Hecla strait, and in- 
land. On the 26th of August the ships entered this 
strait, which was found blocked up with flat ice. The 
season had also now assumed so wintry an aspect that 
there seemed but little probability of getting much far- 
ther west : knowing of no harbor to protect the ships, 
unless a favorable change took place, they had the 
gloomy prospect before them of wintering in or near 
this frozen strait. Boating and land parties were dis- 
patched in several directions, to report upon the differ- 
ent localities. 

On the 4th of September, Captain Lyon landed on 
an island of slate formation, about six miles to the west- 
ward of the ships, which he named Amherst Island. The 
result ©f these expeditions proved that it was impracti- 
cable, either by boats or water conveyance, to examine 
liuy part of the land southwest of Iglolik, in conse- 
fj nonce of the ice. ^ 



124 PUOGKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Mr. Reid and a boat-party traveled about sixty miles 
to the westward of Amherst Island, and ascertained the 
termination of the strait. On a consultation with the 
officers, Captain Parry determined to seek a berth near 
to Iglolik, in which to secure the ships for the winter. 
They had now been sixty-five days struggling to get 
forward, but had only in that time reached forty miles 
to the westward of Iglolik. The vessels made the best 
of their way to the natural channel between this island 
and the land, but were for some time drifted with the 
ice, losing several anchors, and it was only by hard 
work in cutting channels that they were brought into 
safer quarters, near the land. Some fine teams of dogs 
were here purchased from the Esquimaux, which were 
found very serviceable in making excursions on sledges. 

Their second Christmas day in this region had now 
arrived, and Lyon informs us — 

" Captain Parry dined with me, and was treated with 
a superb display of mustard and cress, with about fifty 
onions, rivaling a fine needle in size, which I had reared 
in boxes round my cabin stove. All our messes in 
either ship were supplied with an extra pound of real 
English fresh beef, which had been hanging at our 
quarter for eighteen months. We could not afford to 
leave it for a farther trial of keeping, but I have no doubt 
that double the period would not have quite spoiled its 
flavor." 

This winter proved much more severe than the for- 
mer. Additional clothing was found necessary. The 
stove funnels collected a quantity of ice within them, 
notwithstanding fires were kept up night and day, so 
that it was frequently requisite to take them down in 
order to break and melt the ice out of them. 

Nothing was seen of the sun for forty -two days. 

On the 15th of April, Mr. A. Elder, Greenland mate 

of the Hecla, died of dropsy: he had been leading man 

with Parry on Ross's voyage, and for his good conduct 

vas made mate of the Griper, on the last expedition. 

On the 6th of September, 1823, Mr. George Fife, tU© 
,nlot, also died of scurvy. 



parry's second voyage. 126 

After taking a review of their proWsions, and the 
probability of having to pass a third winter here, Capt. 
Parry determined to send the Hecla home, taking from 
her all the provision that could be spared. Little or 
no hopes could be entertained of any passage being 
found to the westward, otherwise than by the strait now 
so firmly closed with ice ; but Parry trusted that some 
interesting additions might be made to the geography 
of these dreary regions, by attempting a passage to the 
northward or eastward, in hopes of finding an outlet to 
Lancaster Sound, or Prince Regent's Inlet. 

On the 21st of April, 1823, they began transshipping 
the provisions ; the teams of dogs being found most 
useful for this purpose. Even two anchors of 22 cwt. 
each, were drawn by these noble animals at a quick 
trot. 

Upon admitting daylight at the stern windows of the 
Hecla, on the 22d, the gloomy, sooty cabin showed to 
no great advantage ; no less than ten buckets of ice were 
taken from the sashes and out of the stern lockers, from 
which latter some spare flannels and instruments were 
only liberated by chopping. 

On the Tth of June, Captain Lyon, with a party of 
men, set off across the Melville Peninsula, to endeavor 
to get a sight of the western sea, of which they had re- 
ceived descriptive accounts from the natives, but ow- 
ing to the difficulties of traveling, and the ranges of 
mountains they met with, they returned unsuccessful, 
after being out twenty days. Another inland tiip of a 
fortnight followed. 

On the 1st of August, the Hecla was rej)orted ready 
for sea. Some symptoms of scurvy having again made 
their appearance in the ships, and the surgeons report- 
ing that it would not be prudent to continue longer, 
Captain Parry reluctantly determined to proceed home 
with both ships. After being 319 days in their winter 
quarters, the ships got away on the 9th of August. 

A conspicuous landmark, with dispatches, was set 
up on the main-land, for the information of Franklin, 
should he reach thie quarter. 



126 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 



On reaching Winter Island and visiting their la» 
year's garden, radishes, mustard and cress, and onions 
were brought off, which had survived the winter and 
were still alive, seventeen months from the time thej 
were planted, a very remarkable proof of their having 
been preserved by the warm covering of snow. 

The ships, during the whole of this passage, were 
driven by the current more than three degrees, entirely 
at the mercy of the ice, being carried into every bight, 
and swept over each point, without the power of help- 
ing themselves. 

On the 1st of September, they were driven up Lyon 
Inlet, where they were confined high up till the 6th, 
when a breeze sprung up, which took them down to 
within three miles of Winter Island ; still it was not 
until the 12th, that they got thoroughly clear of the in- 
draught. The danger and suspense of these twelve 
days were horrible, and Lyon justly observes, that he 
would prefer being frozen up during another eleven 
montlis' winter, to again passing so anxious a period 
of time. 

" Ten of the twelve nights were passed on deck, in 
expectation, each tide, of some decided change in oui 
affairs, either by being left on the rocks, or grounding 
in such shoal water, that the whole body of the ice must 
have slid over us. But, as that good old seaman Baffin 
expresses himself, ' God, who is greater than either ice 
or tide, always delivered us ! '" 

For thirty-five days the ships had been beset, and in 
that period had driven with the ice above 300 miles, 
without any exertion on their part, and also without a 
possibility of extricating themselves. On the 23d of 
September, they once more got into the swell of the 
Atlantic, and on the 10th of October, arrived at Ler- 
wick, in Shetland. 

Ciavering's Voyage to Spitzbeegen and Green- 
land, 1823. 

[n 1828, Capt. Sabine, K. A., who had been for some 
riine (Migaged in magnetic observations, an(J 'Uso i" 



CKiVEKING'S VOYAGE. 127 

experiments to determine the configuration of the earth, 
by means of pendulum vibrations in different latitudes, 
having perfected his observations at different points, 
from the Equator to the Arctic Circle, suggested to the 
Royal Society, through Sir Humphry Davy, the impor- 
tance of extending similar experiments into higher lat- 
itudes toward the Pole. Accordingly, the government 
placed at his disposal H. M. S. Griper, 120 tons. Com- 
mander Clavering, which was to convey him to Spitz- 
bergen, and thence to the east coast of Greenland. 

The Griper sailed from the Kore, on the 11th of May, 
and proceeded to Hammerfest, or Whale Island, near 
the ISTorth Cape, in Norway, which she reached on the 
4:th of June, and Capt. Sabine having finished his shore 
observations by the 23d, the vessel set sail for Spitzber- 
gen. She fell in with ice off Cherry Island, iu lat. 75^ 
6', on the 27th, and on the 30th disembarked the tents 
and instruments on one of the small islands round 
Hakluyt's Headland, near the eightieth parallel. Capt.' 
Clavering, meanwhile, sailed in the Griper due north, 
and reached the latitude of 80° 20', where being stop- 
ped by close packed ice, he was obliged to return. 

On the 24th of July, they again put to sea, directing 
their course for the highest known point of the eastern 
coast of Greenland. They met with many fields of ice, 
and made the land, which had a most miserable, deso- 
late appearance, at a point which was named Cape Bor- 
lase Warren. Two islands were discovered, and as 
Capt. Sabine here landed and carried on his observa- 
tions, they were called Pendulum Islands. From an 
island situate in lat. 75° 12', to which he gave the name 
of Shannon Island, Clavering saw high land, stretch- 
ing due north as far as lat. 76°. 

On the 16th of August, Clavering landed with a 
party of three officers, and sixteen men on the main- 
land, to examine the shores. The temperature did not 
sink below 23°, and they slept for nearly a fortnight 
they were on shore with only a boat-cloak and blanket 
for a covering, without feeling any inconvenience from 
the cold, A tribe of twelve Esquimaux was met with 



128 PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

here. They reached in their journey a magnilicenl 
inlet, about fifty miles in circumference, which was sup- 
posed to be the same which Gale Hamtes discovered 
in 1654, and which bears his name. The mountaina 
round its sides were 4000 to 5000 feet high. On the 
29th of August, they returned on board, and having 
embarked the tents and instruments, the ship again set 
sail on the 31st, keeping the coast in view to Cape 
Parry, lat. 72 h°. The cliffs were observed to be sev- 
eral thousand feet high. On the 13th of September, 
as the ice in shore began to get very troublesome, the 
ship stood out to sea, and after encountering a very 
heavy gale, which drove them with great fury to the 
southward, and it not being thought prudent to make 
for Ireland, a station in about the same latitude on the 
Norway coast was chosen instead by Capt. Sabine. 
They made the land about the latitude of Christian- 
sound. On the 1st of October, the Griper struck hard 
on a sunken rock, but got off* undamaged. 

On the 6th, they anchored in Drontheim Fiord, 
where they were received with much kindness and hos- 
pitality, and after the necessary observations had been 
completed the ship proceeded homeward, and reached 
Deptford on the 19th of December, 1823. 

Lyon's Yoyage in the Griper. 

In 1824, three expeditions were ordered out, to carry 
on simultaneous operations in Arctic discovery. To 
Capt. Lyon was committed tlie task of examining and 
completing the survey of the Melville Peninsula, the 
adjoining straits, and the shores of Arctic America, if 
possible as far as Franklin's turning point. Capt. Lyon 
was therefore gazetted to the Griper gun-brig, which 
had taken out Capt. Sabine to Spitzbergen, in the pre- 
vious year. The following officers and ciow were also 
appointed to her : — 

Griper. 

Captain — G. F. Lyon. 

Lieutenants — P. Manico and F. Harding. 



lyon's voyage. 129 

A.:;siStant-.Siirveyor — E. JST. Kendal. • 
Purser — J.Evans. 
Assistant-Surgeon — W. Leyson. 
Midshipman — J. Tom. 
34 Petty Officers, Seamen, &c. 
Total complement, 41. 

It was not till the 20th of June, that the Griper got 
away from England, being a full month later than the 
usual period of departure, and the vessel was at the 
best but an old tub in her sailing propensities. A small 
tender, called the Snap^ was ordered to accompany her 
with stores, as far as the ice, and having been relieved 
of her su23plies, she was sent home on reaching Hud- 
son's Straits. 

The Griper made but slow progress in her deeply la- 
den state, her crowded decks being continually swept 
by heavy seas, and it was not until the end of August, 
that she rounded the southern head of Southampton 
Island, and stood up toward Sir Thomas Roe's Wei 
come. On reaching the entrance of this channel they 
encountered a terrific gale, which for a long time 
tlireatened the destruction of both ship and crew. 
Drifting with this, they brought up the ship with four 
anchors, in a bay with five fathoms and a half water, 
in tlie momentary expectation that with the ebb tide 
the ship would take the ground, as the sea broke fear- 
tiilly on a low sandy beach just astern, and had the an- 
chors parted, nothing could have saved the vessel. 
Neither commander nor crew had been in bed for three 
nights, and although little hope was entertained of sur- 
vivino^ the gale, and no boat could live in such a sea, 
the officers and crew performed their several duties 
with their accustomed coolness. Each man was or- 
dered to put on his warmest clothing, and to take charge 
of some useful instrument. The scene is best described 
in tlie words of the gallant commander : — 

"Each, therefore, brought his bag on deck, and 
dressed himself; and in the fine athletic forms which 
etood exposed before nie, I did not see one muscle q^ui- 



li^O PROGKESS OF A-KCTIC DISCOVEJSY. 

vcj', nor the sliglitest sign of alarm. Prayers were read, 
and tliey then all sat clown in groups, sheltered from the 
wash of the sea by whatever they could find, and some 
endeavored to obtain a little sleep. Never, perhaps 
was witnessed a finer scene than on tlie deck of m^ 

ft/ 

little shi}), when all hope of life had left us. jSToble as 
the character of the British sailor is always allowed to 
be in cases of danger, yet I did not believe it to be pos- 
sible that among forty-one persons not one repining 
word should have been uttered. Each was at peace 
with his neighbor and all the world ; and I am nrmly 
persuaded that the resignation which was then shown 
to the will of the Almighty, was the means of obtain- 
ing II is mercy. God was merciful to us, and the tide, 
almost miraculously, fell no lower." The appropriate 
name of the Bay of God's Mercy has been given to 
this spot on the charts by Captain Lyon. 

Proceeding onward up the Welcome, they encoun- 
tered, about a fortnight later, another fearful storm. 
On the 12th of September, when off the entrance of 
Wager Inlet, it blew so hard for two days, that on the 
13th the ship was driven from her anchors, and carried 
away by the fury of the gale, with every prospect of 
being momentarily dashed to pieces against any hid- 
den rock ; but the same good Providence which had 
60 recently befriended them, again stood their protec- 
tor. On consulting with his ufticers, it was unani- 
mously resolved, that in the crippled state of the shijj, 
without any anchor, and with her compasses worse 
than useless, it would be madness to continue the voy- 
age, and the ship's course was therefore shaped for 
England. 

I may observe, that the old Griper is now laid up as 
a hulk in Chichester Harbor, furnishing a residence 
and depot for the coast guard station. 

Parry's Third Yotage. 

In the spring of 1824 the Admiralty determined to 
^ve Capt. Parry another opportunity of carrying or I 



pa^rry's third voyage. 131 

the great problem which had so long been sought af 
ter, of a northwest passage to the Pacific, and so gen 
erally esteemed was this gallant commander that he 
had but to hoist his pennant, when fearless of all dan- 
ger, and in a noble spirit of emulation, his former as- 
dociates rallied around him. 

The same two ships were employed as before, bui 
Parry now selected the Hecla for his pennant. The 
staff of officers and men was as follows : — 

Heola, 

Captain — W. E. Parry. 

Lieutenants — J. L. Wynn, Joseph Sherer, and 

Henry Foster. 
Surgeon — Samuel Neill, M. D. 
Purser ^W. H. Hooper. 
Assistant Surgeon — W. Rowland. 
Midshipmen — J. Brunton, F. R. M. Crozier, C. 

Richards, and H N. Head. 
Greenland Pilots — J. Allison, master; and G. 

Champion, mate. 
49 Petty Officers, Seamen, and Marines. 
Total complement, 62. 

Fury. 

Commander — ,H. P. Hoppner. 

Lieutenants — H. T. Austin and J. C. Eo88. 

Surgeon — A. M'Laren. 

Purser — J. Halse. 

Assistant Surgeon — T. Bell. 

Midshipmen — B. Westropp, C. C. Waller, and E. 

Bird. 
Clerk — "W. Mogg. 
Greenland Pilots — G. Crawford, master ; T. Don 

aldson, mate. 
48 Petty Officers, Seamen, and Marines. 
Total complement, 60. 

The William Harris, transport, was commissioned 
to accompany the ships to the ice with provisions. 

F 



132 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Among the promotions made, it will be seen, were 
Lieut. Hoppner to the rank of Commander, and second 
in command of the expedition. Messrs. J. Sherer, 
and J. O. Koss to be Lieutenants, and J. Halse to be 
Purser. The attempt on this occasion was to be made 
by Lancaster Sound through Barrow's Strait to Prince 
Regent Inlet. The ships sailed on the 19th of May, 
1824, and a month afterward fell in with the body of 
the ice in lat. 60 J°. After transhipping the stores to 
the two vessels, and sending home the transport, about 
the middle of July they were close beset with the ice 
in Baffin's Bay, and "from this time (says Parry) the 
obstructions from the quantity, magnitude, and close- 
ness of the ice, which were such as to keep our people 
almost constantly employed in heaving, warping, or 
sawing through it ; and yet with so little success that, 
at the close of July, we had only penetrated seventy 
miles to the westward." After encountering a severe 
gale on the 1st of August, by which masses of overlay- 
ing ice were driven one uj^on the other, the Ilecla was 
laid on her broadside by a strain, which Parry says 
must inevitably have crushed a vessel of ordinary 
strength ; they got clear of the chief obstructions b\ 
the first week in September. During the whole oi 
August they had not one day sufficiently free from 
rain, snow, or sleet, to be able to air the bedding of 
the ship's company. 

They entered Lancaster Sound on the 10th of Sep- 
tember, and with the exception of a solitary berg or 
two found it clear of ice. A few days after, however, 
they fell in with the young ice, which increasing daily 
in thickness, the ships became beset, and by the cur- 
rent which set to the east at the rate of three miles an 
hour, they were soon drifted back to the eastward of 
Admiralty Inlet, and on the 23d they found them- 
selves again off WoUaston Island, at the en^.rance of 
Navy Board Inlet. By perseverance, hov/ever, and the 
aid of a strong easterly breeze, they once more man- 
aged to recover their lost ground, and on the 27tb 
reached the entrance of Port Bowen en the easterr 



PAKRY'S TtnRD VOYAGE. 133 

fihore of Prince Regent Inlet, and here Parrj resolved 
upon wintering; this making the fourth winter this 
enterprising commander had passed in these inhospi- 
table seas. 

The usual laborious process of cutting canals had to 
be resorted to, in order to get the ships near to the 
shore in secure and sheltered situations. Parry thus 
describes the dreary monotonous character of an arctic 
winter : — 

"It is hard to conceive any one thing more like 
another than two winters passed in the higTier latitude? 
of the polar regions, except when variety happens to 
be afforded by intercourse with seme other branch of 
the whole family of man. Winter after winter, nature 
here assumes an aspect so much alike, that cursory ob- 
servation can scarcely detect a single feature of variety. 
The winter of more temperate climates, and even in 
some of no slight severity, is occasionally diversified 
by a thaw, which at once gives variety and compara- 
tive cheerfulness to the prospect. But here, when once 
the earth is covered, all is dreary monotonous white- 
ness, not merely for days or weeks, but for more than 
half a year together. Whichever way the eye is turn- 
ed, it meets a picture calculated to impress upon the 
mind an idea of inanimate stillness, of that motionless 
torpor with which our feelings have nothing congenial ; 
of any thing, in short, but life. In the very silence 
there is a deadness with which a human spectator ap- 
pears out of keeping. The presence of man seems an 
intrusion on the dreary solitude of this wintry desert, 
which even its native animals have for awhile forsaken." 

During this year Parry tells us the thermometer re- 
mained below zero 131 days, and did not rise above 
that point till the 11th of April. The sun, which had 
been absent from their view 121 days, again blessed 
the crews with his rays on the 22d of February. Du- 
ring this long imprisonment, schools, scientific observa- 
tions, walking parties, &c., were resorted to, but " our 
former amusements," says Parry, " being almost worn 
tln-eadbare, it required some ingenuity to devise an;^ 



134 PUOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCO VERY. 

|>lan that should possess the charm of novelty to re- 
:'.<>inniend it." A happy idea was, liowever, hit upon hy 
Commander lloppner, at whose suggestion a monthly 
'xd masque was held, to the great diversion of both 
officers and men, to the number of 120. The popular 
commander entered gayly into their recreations, and 
thus speaks of these polar masquerades : — 

'^ It is impossible that any idea could have proved 
more happy, or more exactly suited to our situation 
Admirably dressed characters of various descriptions 
readily took their parts, and many of these were sup- 
ported with a degree of spirit and genuine good humor 
which would not have disgraced a more refined assem- 
bly ; while the latter miglit not have been disgraced 
by copying the good order, decorum, and inoiiensive 
cheerfulness which our humble masquerades presented. 
It does especial credit to the dispositions and good 
sense of our meu, that tliough all the officers entered 
fully into the spirit of these amusements, which took 
place once a month alternately on board of each ship, 
no instance occurred of any thing that could interfere 
with the regular discipline, or at all weaken the respect 
of the men toward their superiors. Ours were mas 
querades without licentiousness — carnivals without 
excess." 

Exploring parties were sent out in several directions. 
Commander lloppner and his party went inland, and 
after a fortnight's fatiguing journey over a mountain- 
ous, l)arren, and desolate country, where precipitous ra- 
vines 500 feet deep obstructed their passage, traveled 
a degree and three-quai-ters — to the latitude of 73^' ID', 
but saw no appearance of sea from thence. 

Lieutenant Sherer, with four men, ])roceedcd to the 
southward, and made a carefnl survey of the coast as 
far as 72i^, but had not provisions sufficient to go 
round Cape Kater, the southcrnmust point observed in 
their former voyage. 

Lieutenant J. C. Eoss, with a similar ])arty, traveled 
to the nortlnvard, along the coast of tlie Inlet, and from 
the hills about Cape York, observed that the sea wan 



1>ARRy's THiEID VOYAGE. 135 

perfectly open and free from ice at the distance of 
twenty-two miles from the ships. 

After an imprisonment of about ten months, by great 
exertions the ships were got clear from the ice, and on 
the 20th of Jnly, 1825, upon the separation of the floe 
across the harbor, towed out to sea. Parry then made 
for the western shore of the Inlet, being desirous of ex- 
amining the coast of North Somerset for any channel 
that might occur, a probability which later discoveries 
in that quarter have proved to be without foundation. 
On the 28th, when well in with the western shore, the 
Hecla, in spite of every exertion, was beset by floating 
ice, and after breaking two large ice anchors in en- 
deavoring to heave in shore, was obliged to give up the 
effort and drift with the ice until the 30th. On tiie 
following day, a heavy gale came on, in which the 
Hecla carried away three hawsers, while the Fury was 
driven on shore, but was hove off at high water. Both 
ships were now drifted by the body of the ice down the 
Inlet, and took the ground, the Fury being so nipped 
and strained that she leaked a great deal, and four 
pumps kept constantly at work did not keep her cleai' 
of water. They were floated off at high water, but, 
late on the 2nd of August, the huge masses of ice once 
more forced the Fury on shore, and the Hecla narrowly 
escaped. On examining her and getting her off, it 
was found that she must be hove down and repaired ; 
a basin was therefore formed for her reception and 
completed by the 16th, a mile further to the southward, 
within three icebergs grounded, where there were three 
or four fathoms of water. Into this basin she was 
taken on the 18th, and her stores and provisions being 
removed, she was hove down, but a gale of wind com- 
ing on and destroying the masses of ice which shel- 
tered her, it became necessary to re-embark the stores, 
&c., and once more put to sea ; but the unfortunate 
vessel had hardly got out of her harbor before, on the 
21st, she was again driven on shore. After a careful 
survey and examination, it was found necessary to 
nl)andon her ; Pa^Ty's opinion being thus exp7'essed — 



13^ PROGiKESS 05^ AECTIC DISCOVERY. 

" Every endeavor of ours to get her off, or if got off, td 
float her to any known place of safety, would be at 
once utterly hopeless in itself, and productive of ex* 
treme risk to our remaining ship." 

The loss of this ship, and the crowded state of the 
remaining vessel, made it impossible to think of con- 
tinuing the voyage for the purposes of discovery. 

" The incessant labor, the constant state of anxiety, 
and the frequent and imminent danger into which the 
surviving ^liip was thrown, in the attempts to save her 
comrade, which were continued for twenty-five days, 
destroyed every reasonable expectation hitherto cher- 
ished of the ultimate accomplishment of this object." 

Taking advantage of a northerly wind, on the 27th 
the Ilecla stretched across the Inlet for the eastern 
coast, meeting with little obstruction from the ice, and 
anchored in JSTeilPs Harbor, a short distance to the 
southward of their winter quarters. Port Bowen, where 
the ship was got ready for crossing the Atlantic. 

The Hecla put to sea on the 31st of August, and en- 
tering Barrow's Strait on the 1st of September, found 
it perfectly clear of ice. In Lancaster Sound, a very 
iarge number of bergs were seen ; but they found an 
open sea in Bafiin's Bay, till, on the 7th of September, 
when in latitude 75° 30', they came to the margin of 
^he ice, and soon entered a clear channel on its eastern 
side. From thirty to forty large icebergs, not less than 
200 feet in height, were sighted. 

On the 12th of October, Captain Parry landed at 
Peterhead, and the Hocla arrived at Sheerness on the 
20th. But one man died during this voyage — John 
Page, a seaman of the Fury — who died of scurvy, in 
Neill's Harbor, on the 29th of August. 

This voyage cannot but be considered the most unsuc- 
cessful of the three made by Parry, whether as regards 
the information gleaned on the subject of a northwest 
passage, or the extension of our store of geographical 
or scientific knowledge. The shores of this inlet were 
more naked, barren, aud desolate than even Melville 
Island. With tlie exception of some hundreds of white 



FeANIvLIn's SECO:t^D EXPEDltlOlt. 13? 

whales, seen sporting about the southernmost part of 
che Inlet that was visited, few other species of animals 
were seen. 

" We have scarcely," says Parry, " ever visited a coast 
on which so little of animal life occurs. For days to- 
gether only one or two seals, a single sea-horse, and 
now and then a flock of ducks were seen." 

lie still clings to the accomplishment of the great 
object of a northwest passage. At page 184 of his offi- 
cial narrative, he says: — 

" I feel confident that the undertaking, if it be deemed 
advisable at any future time to pursue it, wiU one day 
or other be accomplished ; for — setting aside the acci- 
dents to which, from their very nature, such attempts 
must be liable, as well as other unfavorable circum- 
stances which human foresight can never guard against, 
or human power control— I cannot but believe it to 
be an enterprise well within the reasonable limits of 
practicability. It may be tried often and fail, for seve- 
ral favorable and fortunate circumstances must be com- 
bined for its accomplishment ; but I believe, neverthe- 
less, that it will ultimately be accomplished." 

"lam much mistaken, indeed," he adds, ""if the 
northwest passage ever becomes the business of a single 
summer ; nay, I believe that nothing but a concurrence 
of very favorable circumstances is likely ever to make 
a single winter in the ice sufficient for its accomplish- 
ment. But there is no argument against the possibility 
of final success ; for we know that a winter in the ice 
may be passed not only in safety, but in health and 
comfort." 

Kot one winter alone, but two and three have been 
passed with health and safety in these seas, under a 
wise and careful commander. 

FjBAiTBxm's Second Expedition, 1825-26. 

Undaunted by the hardships and sufferings he had 
encountered in his previous travels with a noble spirit 
of ardor and entliusiasm, Captain Franklin determiner^ 



138 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

to prosecute the chain of his former discoveries fi'om 
the Coppermine river to the most western point of the 
Arctic regions. A sea expedition, under the command 
of Captain Beechey was at the same time sent round 
Cape Horn to Behring's Straits, to co-operate with Parry 
and Franklin, so as to furnish provisions to the former, 
and a conveyance home to the latter. 

Captain Franklin's offer was therefore accepted by 
the government, and leaving Liverpool in February, 
1825, he arrived at New York about the middle of 
March. The officers under his orders were his old and 
tried companions and fellow sufferers in the former jour- 
ney — Dr. Richardson and Lieutenant Back, with Mr. 
E. ^N". Kendal, a mate in the navy, who had been out in 
the Griper with Capt. Lyon, and Mr. T. Drummond, a 
naturalist. Four boats, specially prepared for the pur- 
poses of the expedition, were sent out by the Hudson's 
Bay Company's ship. 

In July, 1825, the party arrived at Fort Chipewyan. 
It is unnecessary to go over the ground and follow them 
in their northern journey; suffice it to say, they reached 
Great Bear Lake in safety, and erected a winter dwell- 
ing on its western shore, to which the name of Fort 
Franklin was given. To Back and Mr. Dease, an offi- 
cer in the Hudson's Bay Company's service, were in- 
trusted the arrangements for their winter quarters. 

From here a small party set out with Franklin down 
the Mackenzie to examine the state of the Polar Sea. 
On the 5th of September they got back to their com- 
panions, and prepared to pass the long winter of seven 
or eight months. 

On the 28th of June, 1826, the season being suffi- 
ciently advanced, and all their preparations completed, 
the whole party got away in four boats to descend the 
Mackenzie to the Polar Sea. Where the river branches 
off into several channels, the party separated on the 3d 
of July, Captain Franklin and Lieutenant Back, with 
two boats and fourteen men, having with them tlie 
Faitliful Esquimaux interpreter, Augustus, who had 
been witli tliem on the foi-mor exj^edition, proceeded to 



fbanklin's second expedition. 139 

the westward, while Dr. Richardson and Mr. Kendal 
in the other two boats, having ten men under their 
command, set out in an easterly direction, to search 
the Coppermine River. 

Franldin arrived at the mouth of the Mackenzie on 
the 7th of July, where he encountered a large tribe of 
derce Esquimaux, who pillaged his boats, and it was 
only by great caution, prudence and forbearance, that 
the whole party were not massacred. After getting the 
boats afloat, and clear of these unj^leasant visitors, 
Franklin pursued his survey, a most tedious and diffi- 
cult one, for more than a month ; he was only able to 
reach a point in latitude 70° 24' N., longitude 149° 37' 
W., to which Back's name was given ; and here pru- 
dence obliged him to return, although, strangely enough, 
a boat from the Blossom was waiting not 160 miles west 
of his position to meet with him. The extent of coast 
surveyed was 374 miles. The return journey to Fort 
Franklin was safely accomplished, and they arrived at 
their house on the 31st' of September, when they found 
Richardson and Kendal had returned on the first of 
the month, having accomplished a voyage of about 500 
miles, or 902 by the coast line, between the 4th of July 
and the 8th of Augiist. They had pushed forward be- 
yond the strait named after their boats, the Dolj>hin and 
tlnion. 

In ascending the Coppermine, they had to abandon 
their boats and carry their provisions and baggage. 

Having passed another winter at Fort Franklin, as 
soon as the season broke up the Canadians were dis 
missed, and the party returned to England. 

The cold experienced in the last winter was intense, 
the thermometer standing at one time at 58° below zero, 
but having now plenty of food, a weather-tight dwell- 
ing, and good health, they passed it cheerfully. Dr. 
Richardson gave a course of lectures on practical geol- 
ogy, and Mr. Drummond furnished information on natu- 
ral history. During the winter, in a solitary hut on the 
Rocky mountains, he managed to collect 200 specimens 
of birds, animals, &c., and more than 1500 of plants 
9 F* 



140 PliOGKESS OF AltCTIC DISCOVERY. 

When Captain Franklin left England to proceed on 
this expedition he had to undergo a severe struggle 
between his feelings of affection and a sense of duty. 
His wife (he has been married twice) was then lying at 
the point of deatli, and indeed died the day after he 
left England. But with heroic fortitude she urged his 
departure at the very day appointed, entreating him, 
as he valued her peace and his own glory, not to delay 
a moment ou lier account. His feelings, therefore, may 
be inferred, but not described, when he had to elevate 
on Garry Island a silk flag, which slie had made and 
given him as a parting gift, with the instruction that 
he was only to hoist it on reaching the Polar Sea. 

Beechey's Yoyage. — 1826-28. 

H. M. SLOOP Blossom, 26, Ca])tain F. W. Beechey, 
Bailed from Spithead on the 19th of May, 1825, and 
her instructions directed her, after surveying some of 
the islands in the Pacific, to be in Behring's Straits by 
the summer or autumn of 1826, and contingently in that 
of 1827. 

It is foreign to ni}^ purpose here to allude to those 
[)arts of her voyage anterior to -her arrival in the Straits. 

On tlie 28th of June the Blossom came to an anchor 
off the town of Petropolowski, where she fell in w^ith 
the Pussian ship of war Modeste, under the commano 
of Baron Wrangcl, so w^ell known for his enterprise ii- 
the hazardous expedition by sledges over the ice to thf 
northward of Cape Shelatskoi, or Errinos. 

Captain Beechey here found dispatches infonnini* 
him of the return of Parry's expedition. Being bese> 
by currents and other difficulties, it was not till the 5tb 
of July that the Blossom got clear of the harbor, and 
made the best of her way to Tvotzebue Sound, reachins 
tlic appointed rendezvous at Chamiso Island on the 25tli. 
After landing and burying a barrel of flour upon Puffin 
Rock, the most urfrequented spot about tlie island, tlic 
I'lussom occupied 'he time in sva-veying and examining 



BEECHEY 6 VOYAGE. 141 

the neighboring coasts to the northeast. On the 30th 
she took her departure from the island, erecting posts 
or land-marks, and burying dispatches at Cape Krusen- 
stern, near a cape which he named after Franklin, near 
Icy Cape. 

The ship returned to the rendezvous on the evening 
of the 28th of August. The barrel of flour had been 
dug up and appropriated by the natives. 

On the first visit of one of these parties, they con- 
structed a chart of the coast upon the sand, of which, 
however. Captain Beechey at first took very little notice. 
" They, however, renewed their labor, and performed 
their work upon the sandy beach in a very ingenious and 
intelligible manner. The coast line was iirst marked 
out with a stick, and the distances regulated by the 
day's journey. The hills and ranges of mountains were 
next shown by elevations of sand or stone, and the 
islands represented by heaps of pebbles, their propor- 
tions being duly attended to. As the work proceeded, 
some of the bystanders occasionally suggested altera- 
tions, and Captain Beechey moved one of the Diomede 
Islands, which was misplaced. This was at first ob- 
jected to by the hydrographer, but one of the party 
recollecting that the islands were seen in one from Cape 
Prince of Wales, confirmed its new position and made 
the mistake quite evident to the others, who were much 
surprised that Captain Beechey should have any knowl- 
edge of the subject. When the mountains and islands 
were erected, the villages and fishing-stations were 
marked by a number of sticks placed upright, in imita- 
tion of those which are put up on the coast wherever 
these people fix their abode. In time, a complete hy- 
drographical plan was drawn from Cape Derby to Cape 
Krusenstern. 

This ingenuity and accuracy of description on the 
part of the Esquimaux is worthy of particular remark, 
and has been verified by almost all the Arctic explorers. 

The barge which had been dispatched to the east- 
ward, under <^.harge of Mr. Elson, reached to latitude 
TV 23' 31" N., and longitude 156° 21' 31" W., when^ 



142 PK0GKES8 OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY 

she was stoj^ped by the ice which was attached to the 
shore. The farthest tongue of land they reached was 
named Point Barrow, and is about 126 miles northeast 
of Icy Cape, being only about 150 or 160 miles from 
Franklin's discoveries west of the Mackenzie river. 

The wind suddenly changing to southwest, the com- 
pact body of ice began to drift with the current to the 
northeast at the rate of three and a half miles an hour, 
and Mr. Elson, finding it difiicult to avoid large floating 
masses of ice, was obliged to come to an anchor to pre- 
vent being driven back. " It was not long before he was 
so closely beset in the ice, that no clear water could 
be seen in any direction from the hills, and the ice 
continuing to press against the shore, his vessel w^as 
driven upon the beach, and there left upon her broad- 
side in a most helpless condition; and to add to his 
cheerless prospect che disposition of the natives, whom 
he found to incre*4,se in numbers as he advanced to the 
northward, was of a very doubtful character. At Point 
Barrow, where they were very numerous, their over- 
bearing behavior, and the thefts they openly prac- 
ticed, left no doubt of what would be the fate of his 
little crew, in the event of their falling into their 
power. They were in this dilemma several days, dur- 
ing which every endeavor was made to extricate the 
vessel but without effect, and Mr. Elson contemplated 
sinking her secretly in a lake that was near, to prevent 
her falling into the hands of the Esquimaux, and then 
making his way along the coast in a baidar, which he 
bad no doubt he should be able to purchase from the 
natives. At length, however, a change of wind loos- 
ened the ice, and after considerable labor and trial, in 
which the personal strength of the officers was united 
to that of the seamen, Mr. Elson, with his shipmates, 
fortunately succeeded in eflecting their escape. 

Captain Beechey was very anxious to remain in 
Kotzebue Sound until the end of October, the period 
named in his instructions, but the rapid approach o** 
winter, the danger of being locked up, having only 
five weeks' provisions left, and the nearest i^oint at 



beechey's voyage. 143 

which he could replenish being some 2000 miles dis- 
tant, induced his officers to concur with him in the 
necessity of leaving at once. A barrel of flour and 
other articles were buried on the sandy point of Cha- 
miso, for Franklin, which it was hoped would escape 
the prying eyes of the natives. 

After a cruise to California, the Sandwich Islands, 
Loochoo, the Bonin Islands, &c., the Blossom returned 
to Chamiso Island on the 5th of July, 1827. They 
found the flour and dispatches they had left the pre- 
vious year unmolested. Lieut. Belcher was dispatched 
in the barge to explore the coast to the northward, and 
the ship followed her as soon as the wind permitted. 
On the 9th of September, when standing in for the 
northern shore of Kotzebue Sound, the ship drifting 
with the current took the ground on a sand-bank near 
Hotham Inlet, but the wind moderating, as the tide 
rose she went off the shoal apparently without injury. 

After this narrow escape from shipwreck they beat 
up to Chamiso Island, which they reached on the 10th 
of September. ITot finding the barge returned as ex- 
pected, the coast was scanned, and a signal of distress 
found flying on the southwest point of Choris Pen 
insula, and two men waving a white cloth to attract 
notice. On landing, it was found that this party were 
the crew of the barge, which had been wrecked in Kot- 
zebue Sound, and three of the men were also lost. 

On the 29th a collision took place with the natives, 
which resulted in three of the seamen and four of the 
marines being wounded by arrows, and one of the na- 
tives killed by the return fire. 

After leaving advices for Franklin, as before, the 
Blossom finally left Chamiso on the 6th of October. 
In a haze and strong wind she ran between the land 
and a shoal, and a passage had to be forced through 
breakers at the imminent danger of the ship's striking. 
The Blossom then made the best of her way homt;, 
reaching England in the first week of October, 1828 



144 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

ir*ARRl'S FOURIH, OR PoLAR YoYAGE, 1827. 

In 1826, Capt. Pariy, who had only returned from 
his last voyage in the close of the preceding year, was 
much struck by the suggestions of Mr. Scoresby, in a 
paper read before the W ernerian Society, in which he 
sketched out a plan for reaching the highest latitudes 
of the Polar Sea, north of Spitzbergen, by means of 
sledge boats drawn over the smooth fields of ice which 
were known to prevail in those regions. Col. Beau- 
foy, F. R. S., had also suggested this idea some years 
previously. Comparing these with a similar plan orig- 
inally proposed by Captain Franklin, and which was 
placed in his hands by Mr. Barrow, the Secretary of 
the Admiralty, Capt. Parry laid his modified views of 
the feasibility of the project, and his willingness to un- 
dertake it, before Lord Melville, the First JLord of the 
Admiralty, who, after consulting with the President 
and Council of the Poyal Society, was pleased to sanc- 
tion the attempt ; accordingly, his old ship, the Hecla, 
was fitted out for the voyage to Spitzbergen, the fol- 
lowing ofiicers, (all of whom had been with Parry be- 
fore,) and crew being appointed to her : — 

Hecla. 

Captain — W. E. Parry. 

Lieutenants — J. C. Poss, Henry Foster, E. J. Bird, 

F. R. M. Crozier. 
Purser — James Halse. 
Surgeon — C. J. Beverley. 

On the 4th of April, 182T, the outfit and prepara- 
ti(ms being completed, the Hecla left the Nore for the 
coast of Korway, touching at Hammerfest, to embark 
eight reindeer, and some m.o&% {Cenomyce rangiferiha) 
sufllcient for their support, the consumption being 
about 4 lbs. per day, but they can go without food for 
several days. A tremendous gale of wind, experienced 
off Haklnyt's Headland, and the quantity of ice with 
which the ship was in consequence beset, detained the 
voyagers for nearly a montl\ but on the 18th of June, 



PiLBRY's FOUKTH VOYAGE. 145 

a southerly wind dispersing the ice, they dropped 
anchor in a cove, on the northern coast of Spitzbergen, 
which appeared to offer a secure haven, and to which 
the name of the ship was given. On the 20th, the 
boats, which had been especially prepared in England 
for this kind of journey, were got out and made ready, 
and they left the ship on the 22d of June. A deacrip- 
tion of these boats may not here be out of place. 

They were twenty feet long and seven broad, flat 
floored, like ferry boats, strengthened and made elas- 
tic by sheets of felt between the planking, covered 
with water-proof canvass. A runner attached to each 
side of the keel, adapted them for easy draught on the 
ice after the manner of a sledge. They were also fit- 
ted with wheels, to be used if deemed expedient and 
useful. Two officers and twelve men were attached 
to each boat, and they were named the Enterprise and 
Endeavor. The weight of each boat, including pro- 
visions and every requisite, was about 3780 lbs. Lieuts, 
Crozier and Foster were left on board, and Capt. Parry 
took with him in his boat Mr. Beverley, Surgeon, while 
Lieut, (now Capt. Sir James) Ross, and Lieut, (now 
Commander) Bird, had charge of the other. 

The reindeer and the wheels were given up as use- 
less, owing to the rough nature of the ice. Provisions 
for seventy-one days were taken — the daily allowance 
per man on the journey being 10 ozs. biscuit, 9 ozs. 
pemmican, 1 oz. sweetened cocoa powder (being 
enough to make a pint,) and one gill of rum ; but 
scanty provision in such a climate, for men employed 
on severe labor ; three ounces of tobacco were also 
served out to each per week. 

As fuel was too bulky to transport, spirits of wine 
were consumed, which answered all the purposes re- 
quired, a pint twice a day being found sufficient to 
warm each vessel, when applied to an iron boiler by a 
shallow lamp with seven wicks. After floating the 
boats ^or about eighty miles, they came to an unpleas- 
ant mixed surface of ice and water, where their toilsome 
journey commenced, the boats having to be laden and 



146 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

unladen several times according as they came to floes 
of ice or lanes of water, and they were drifted to the 
southward by the ice at the rate of four or five miles a 
day. Parry found it more advantageous to travel by 
night, the snow being then harder, and the inconven- 
ience of snow blindness being avoided, while the party 
enjoyed greater warmth during the period of rest, and 
had better opportunities of drying their clothes by the 
sun. 

I cannot do better than quote Parry's graphic de- 
scription of this novel course of proceeding : '' Travel- 
ing by night, and sleeping by day, so completely in- 
verted the natural order of things that it was difficult 
to persuade ourselves of the reality. Even the officers 
and myself, who were all furnished with pocket chro- 
nometers, could not always bear in mind at what part 
of the twenty-hours we had arrived ; and there were 
several of the men who declared, 'and I believe truly, 
that they never knew night from day during the whole 
excursion. 

" When we rose in the evening, we commenced our 
day by prayers, after which we took off our fur sleep- 
ing-dresses and put on clothes for traveling ; the former 
being made of camlet lined with raccoon skin, and the 
latter of strong blue cloth. We made a point of al- 
ways putting on the same stockings and boots for 
traveling in, whether they had been dried during the 
day or not, and I belie^ e it was only in five or six in- 
stances at the most that they were not either still wet 
or hard frozen. This indeed was of no consequence, 
beyond the discomfort of first putting them on in this 
state, as they were sure to be thoroughly wet in a 
quarter of an hour after commencing our journey : 
while, on the other hand, it was of vital importance 
to keep dry things for sleeping in. Being ' rigged ' 
for traveling, we breakfasted upon warm cocoa and 
biscuit, and after stowing the things in the boats, and 
on the sledges, so as to secure them as much as pos- 
sible from wet, we set off on our day's journey, an<i 
usually traveled four, five, or even six hours, accord- 
ing to circumstances." 



t»ARRY's FOURTH t^OYAGE. 147 

In five days, notwithstanding their perseverance 
and continued journeys, they found, by observation at 
noon, on the 30th, that they had only made eight mile? 
of direct northing. 

At Walden Island, one of the Seven Islands, and 
Little Table Island, reserve supplies of provisions were 
deposited to fall back upon in case of necessity. 

In halting early in the morning for the purposes of 
rest, the boats were hauled up on the largest piece of 
ice that offered the least chance of breaking through, 
or of coming in contact with other masses, the snow or 
wet was cleaned out and the sails rigged as awnings. 
" Every man then immediately put on dry stockings 
and fur boots, after which we set about the necessary 
repairs of boats, sledges, or clothes, and after serving 
the provisions for the succeeding day, we went to sup- 
per. Most of the officers and men then smoked their 
pipes, which served to dry the boats and awnings very 
much, and usually raised the temperature of our lodg- 
ings 10° or 15°. This part of the twenty-four hours 
was often a time, and the only one, of real enjoyment 
to us ; the men told their stories, and fought all their 
battles o'er again, and the labors of the day, unsuccess- 
ful as they too often were, were forgotten. A regular 
watch was set during our resting time, to look out for 
bears, or for the ice breaking up round us, as well as 
to attend to the drying of the clothes, each man alter- 
nately taking this duty for one hour. We then con- 
cluded our day with prayers, and having put on oui 
fur dresses, lay down to sleep with a degree of* comfort 
which perhaps few persons would imagine possible un- 
der such circumstances, our chief inconvenience being, 
that we were somewhat pinched for room, and there- 
fore obliged to stow rather closer than was quite agree- 
able.'] 

This close stowage may be imagined when it is re- 
membered that thirteen persons had to sleep in a boat 
seven feet broad. After sleeping abouf seven hours, 
they were roused from their slumbers by the sound of 
a bugle from the cook and watchman, which announced 



14S PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

that their cocoa was smoking hot, and invited them to 
breakfast. 

Their progress was of the most tedious and toilsome 
character, heavy showers of rain rendering the ice on 
many occasions a mass of " slush ;" on others there was 
from six to eighteen inches of snow lying on the sur- 
face. Frequently the crew had to proceed on their 
hands and knees to secure a footing, and on one occa- 
sion they made such a snail-like progress that in two 
hours they only accomplished 150 yards. On the 12th 
of July, they had reached the latitude of 82° W 28". 
After five hours' unceasing labor on the 14th, the pro- 
gress was but a mile and a half due north, though 
from three to four miles had been traversed, and ten at 
least walked, having made three journeys a great part 
of the way ; launched and hauled up the boats four 
times, and dragged them over twenty-five separate 
pieces of ice. On the 18th, after eleven hours of ac- 
tual labor, requiring for the most part the exertion of 
the whole strength of the party, they had traveled over 
a space not exceeding four miles, of which only two 
were made good. 

But on halting on the morning of the 20th, having 
by his reckoning accomplished six and a half ixdles in 
a N. 'N, "W. direction, the distance traversed being ten 
miles and a half. Parry found to his mortification from 
observation at noon, that they were not Jive miles to 
the northward of their place at noon on the 17th, 
although they had certainly traveled twelve miles in 
that direction since then. 

On the 21st, a floe of ice on which they had lodged 
the boats and sledges, broke with their weight, and all 
went through with several of the crew, who, with the 
sledges were providentially saved. 

On the 23d, the farthest northerly point was reached, 
which was about 82° 45'. 

At 'noon on the 26th, the weather being clear, the 
meridian altitude of the sun was obtained, "by which," 
says Parry, " we found ourselves in latitude 82° 40' 23'', 
ao that since our last observation (at midnight on tho 



parry's fourth voyage. 149 

22d,) we had lost by drift no less than thirteen and a 
half miles, for we were now more than three miles to the 
southward of that observation, though we had certainly 
traveled between ten and eleven, due north in this 
interval ! Again, we were but one mile to the north 
of our place at noon on the 21st, though we had esti- 
mated our distance made good at twenty-three miles." 
After encountering every species of fatigue and dis- 
heartening obstacles, in peril of their lives almost every 
hour, Parry now became convinced that it was hope- 
less to pursue the journey any further, and he could 
not even reach the eighty-third parallel ; for after thir- 
ty-five days of continuous and most fatiguing drudg- 
ery, with half their resources expended, and the mid- 
dle of the season arrived, he found that the distance 
gained in their laborious traveling was lost by the 
drift and sea of the ice with the southerly current dur- 
ing the period of rest. After planting their ensigns 
and pennants on the 26th, and making it a day of rest 
on the 27th, the return to the southward was com- 
menced. Nothing particular occurred. Lieutenant 
iioss managed to bring down with his gun a fat she 
bear, which came to have a look at the boats, and af- 
ter gormandizing on its tiesh, an excess which may 
be excused considering it was the first fresh meat they 
had tasted for many a day, some symptoms of indi- 
gestion manifested themselves among the party. 

On the outward journey very little of animal life 
was seen. A passing gull, a solitary rotge, two seals, 
and a couple of files, were all that their eager eyes 
could detect. But on their return, these became more 
numerous. On the 8th of August, seven or eight nar- 
whals were seen, and not less than 200 rotges, a flock 
of these little birds occur ing in every hole of water. 
On the 11th, in latitude bl° 30', the sea v/as found 
crowded with shrimps and other sea insects, on which 
numerous birds were feeding. On this day they took 
their last meal on the ice, being fifty miles distant from 
Table Island, having accomplished in fiteen days what 
had taken them thirty-three to efi'ect on their outward 



l50 PROGRESS 0^ ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

juuruey. On the 12th, thej arrived at this island. The 
bears had walked oif with the relay of bread which 
liad been deposited there. To an inlet lying off Table 
Island, and the most northern known land upon the 
globe, Parry gave the name of Ross, for " no individ- 
ual," he observes, " could have exerted himself more 
strenuously to rob it of this distinction." 

Putting to sea again, a storm obliged the boats to 
bear up for Walden Island. " Every thing belonging to 
us (says Captain Parry) was now completely drenched 
by the spray and snow ; we had been fifty-six hours 
without rest, and forty-eight at work in the boats, so 
that by the time they were unloaded we had barely 
strength left to haul them up on the rocks. However, 
by dint of great exertion, we managed to get the boats 
above the surf ; after which a hot supper, a blazing 
lire of drift wood, and a few hours quiet rest, restored 
us." 

They finally reached the ship on the 21st of August, 
after sixty-one days' absence. 

" The distance traversed during this excursion was 
569 geographical miles ; but allowing for the times we 
had to return for our baggage, during the greater part 
of the journey over the ice, we estimated our actual 
traveling at 978 geographical, or 1127 statute miles. 
Considering our constant exposure to wet, cold, and 
fatigue, our stockings having generally been drenched 
in snow-water for twelve hours out of every twenty- 
four, I had great reason to be thankful for the excellent 
health in which, upon the whole, we reached the ship. 
There is little doubt that we had all become in a certain 
degree gradually weaker for some time past ; but only 
three men of our party now required medical care — 
two of them with badly swelled legs and general de 
Ivility, and the otlier from a bruise, but even these threfc 
returned to their duty in a short time." 

In a letter from Sir W. E. Parry to Sir John Barrow, 
lated November 25, 1845, he thus suggests some im 
|)]'overaents on his old plan of proceedings : — 

" It is evident (he says) that tlie causes of failure Id 



parry's fourth voyage. 151 

our former attempt, in the yeai 1827, were principally 
two : first, and chiefly, the broken, rugged, and soft 
state of the ice over which we traveled ; and secondly, 
the drifting of the whole body of ice in a southerly 
direction. 

" My amended plan is, to go out with a single ship 
to Spitzbergen, just as we did in the Hecla, but not so 
early in the season ; the object for that year being 
merely to find secure winter quarters as far north as 
possible. For this purpose it would only be necessary 
to reach Hakluyt's Headland by the end of June, 
which would afford ample leisure for examining the 
more northern lands, especially about the Seven Islands, 
where, in all probability, a secure nook might be found 
for the ship, and a starting point for the proposed ex- 
■ pedition, some forty or fifty miles in advance of the 
point where the Hecla was before laid up. The winter 
might be usefully employed in various preparations for 
the journey, as well as in magnetic, astronomical, and 
meteorological observations, of high interest in that 
latitude. I propose that the expedition should leave 
the ship in the course of the month of April, when the 
ice would present one hard and unbroken surface, over 
which, as I confidently believe, it would not be difficult 
to make good thirty miles per day, without any expo- 
sure to wet, and probably without snow blindness. At 
this season, too, the ice would probably be stationary, 
and thus the two great difficulties which we formerly 
had to encounter would be entirely obviated. It might 
form a part of the plan to push out supplies previously, 
to the distance of 100 miles, to be taken up on the 
way, so as to commence the journey comparatively 
light ; and as the intention would be to complete the 
enterprise in the course of the month of May, before 
any disruption of the ice, or any material softening of 
the surface had taken place, similar supplies might be 
sent out to the same distance, to meet the party on 
their return." 

The late Sir John Barrow, in his last work, com- 
menting on this, says, " With all deference to so dis- 



152 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

tinguislied a sea officer, in possession of so much expe- 
rience as Sir Edward Parry, there are others who 
express dislike of such a plan ; and it is not improba- 
ble that many will be disposed to come to* the conclu- 
sion, that so long as the Greenland Seas are hampered 
with ice, so long as floes, and hummocks, and heavy 
masses, continue to be formed, so long as a determined 
southerly current prevails, so long will any attempt to 
carry out the plan in question, in like manner fail. No 
laborious drudgery will ever be able to concruer the 
opposing progress of the current and the ice. Besides, 
it can hardly be doubted, this gallant officer will admit, 
on further consideration, that this unusual kind of dis- 
gusting and unseamanlike labor, is not precisely such 
as would be relished by the men ; and, it may be said, 
is not exactly fitted for a British man-of-war's-man ; 
moreover, that it required his own all-powerful example 
to make it even tolerable." Sir John therefore sug- 
gested a somewhat difierent plan. He recommended 
that two small ships should be sent in the early spring 
along the western coast of Spitzbergen, where usually 
no impediment exists, as far up as 80°. They should 
take every opportunity of proceeding directly to the 
north, where, in about 82°, Parry has told us the large 
floes had disappeared, and the sea was found to be 
loaded only with loose, disconnected, small masses of 
ice, through which ships would find no difficulty in 
sailing, though totally unfit for boats dragging ; and as 
this loose ice was drifting to the southward, he further 
says, that before the middle of August a ship might 
have sailed up to the latitude of 82°, almost without 
touching a piece of ice. It is not then unreasonable to 
expect that beyond that parallel, even as far as the 
pole itself, the sea would be free of ice, during the six 
summer months of perpetual sun, through each of the 
twenty-four hours ; which, with the aid of the current, 
would, in all probability, destroy and dissipate the 
polar ice. 

The distance fi-om Hakluyt's Headland to the pole 
is COO geograpliical miles. Granting the ships to make 



r*ASRY^S FOURTH VOYAGE. l5^ 

only twenty miles in twenty-four hours, (on the suppo- 
sition of much sailing ice to go through,) even in that 
case it would require but a month to enable the ex- 
plorer to put his foot on the pivot or point of the axis 
on which the globe of the earth turns, remain there a 
month, if necessary, to obtain the sought-for informa- 
tion, and then, with a southerly current, a fortnight, 
probably less, would bring him back to Spitzbergen. ^ 

In a notice in the Quarterly Review of this, one of 
the most singular and perilous journeys of its kind 
ever undertaken, except perhaps that of Baron Wran- 
gell upon a similar enterprise to the northward of Behr- 
ing's Straits, it is observed, — ^"Let any one conceive 
for a moment the situation of two open boats, laden 
with seventy days' provisions and clothing for twenty- 
eight men, in the midst of a sea covered nearly with 
detached masses and floes of ice, over which these 
boats were to be dragged, sometimes up one side of a 
rugged mass, and down the other, sometimes across the 
lanes of water that separate them, frequently over a 
surface covered with deep snow, or through pools of 
water. Let him bear in mind, that the men had little 
or no chance of any other supply of provisions than 
that which they carried with them, calculated as just 
sufficient to sustain life, and consider what their situa- 
tion would have been in the event, by no means an 
improbable one, of losing any part of their scanty 
stock. Let any one try to imagine to himself a situa- 
tion of this kind, and he will still have but a faint idea 
of the exertions which the men under Captain Parry 
had to make, and the sufferings and privations they 
had to undergo." 

Captain Parry having thus completed his fifth voy- 
age into the arctic regions, in four of which he com- 
manded, and was second in the other, it may here be 
desirable to give a recapitulation of his services. 

In 1818 he was appointed Lieutenant, commanding 
the Alexander, hired ship, as second officer with his 
uncle. Commander John Koss. In 1819, still as Lieu- 

* Barrow's Voyages of Discovery, p. 316, 



154- PROGRESS OF ARCTIC t)ISCOVERY. 

tenant, he was appointed to command the Hecla, and 
to take charge of the second arctic expedition, on which 
service he was employed two years. On the 14th of 
November, 1820, he was promoted to the rank of 
Commander. 

On the 19th of December, 1820, the Bedfordean 
Gold Medal of the Bath and West of England Society 
for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and 
Commerce, was unanimously voted to him. On the 
30th of December of that year, he was appointed to 
the Fury, with orders to take command of the expedi- 
tion to the Arctic Sea. With the sum of 500 guineas, 
subscribed for the purpose, " the Explorer of the Polar 
Sea " was afterward presented with a silver vase, 
highly embellished with devices emblematic of tho 
arctic voyages. And on the 24th of March, 1821, the 
city of Bath presented its freedom to Captain Parry, in 
a box of oak, highly and appropriately ornamented. 
On the 8th of November, 1821, he obtained his post- 
captain's rank. On the 22d of November, 1823, he 
was presented with the freedom of the city of Win- 
chester ; and, on the 1st of December, was appointed 
acting hydrographer to the Admiralty in the place of 
Captain Hind, deceased. In 1824 he was appointed to 
the Hecla, to proceed on another exploring voyage. 

On the 22d of November, 1825, Captain Parry was 
formally appointed hydrographer to the Admiralty, 
which office he continued to hold until the 10th of 
November, 1826. 

In December, 1825, he was voted the freedom of the 
borough of Lynn, in testimony of the high sense enter- 
tained by the corporation of his meritorious and enter 
prising conduct. 

In April, 1827, he once more took the command of 
his old ship, the Hecla, for another voyage of discovery 
toward the North Pole. On his return in the close of 
the year, having paid off the Hecla at Deptford, he 
resumed, on the 2d of November, his duties as hydro- 
grapher to the Admiralty, which office he held until 
*be 13th of May, 1829. Having received the Iv»Jior of 



CAPTAIN boss's SECOND VOYAOE. 155 

knighthood, he then resigned in favor of the present 
Admiral Beaufort, and, obtaining permission from the 
Admiralty, proceeded to New South Wales as resident 
Commissioner to the Australian Agricultural Com 
pany, taking charge of their recently acquired large 
territory in the neighborhood of Port Stephen. He 
returned from Australia in 1834. From the 7th of 
March, 1835, to the 3d of February, 1836, he acted as 
Poor Law Commissioner in l^^orfolk. Early in 1837, 
he was appointed to organize the Mail Packet Service, 
then transferred to the Admiralty, and afterward, in 
April, was appointed Controller of steam machinery to 
the Navy, which office he continued to hold up to De- 
cember, 1846. From that period to the present time 
lie has filled the post of Captain Superintendent of the 
Royal Navy Hospital at Haelar. 

Captain John Ross's Second Yotage, 1829-33. 

In the year 1829, Capt. Ross, the pioneer of arctic 
exploration in the 19th century, being anxious once 
more to display his zeal and enterprise as well as to 
retrieve his nautical reputation from those unfortunate 
blunders and mistakes which had attached to his first 
voyage, and thus remove the cloud which had for 
nearly ten years hung over his professional character, 
endeavored without efi'ect to induce the government 
to send him out to the Polar Seas in charge of another 
expedition. The Board of Admiralty of that day, in 
the spirit of retrenchment which pervaded their coun- 
cils, were, however, not disposed to recommend any 
further grant for research, even the Board of Longi- 
tude was abolished, and the boon of 20,000Z. offered 
by act of parliament for the promotion of arctic dis 
covery, also withdrawn by a repeal of the act. 

Captain Ross, however, undaunted by the chilling 
indifference thus manifested toward his proposals by 
the Admiralty, still persevered, having devoted SOOOl. 
out of his own funds toward the prosecution of the ob- 
ject he had in view. He was fortunate enough to 
iO Q 



156 PROGKESS OF AKUTIC DISCOVERY. 

meet with a public-spirited and affluent coadjuto) And 
supporter in the late Sir Felix Booth, the eminen dis- 
tiller, and that gentleman nobly contributed 17^000^. 
toward the expenses. Captain Ross thereupon set to 
work, and purchased a small Liverpool steamer named 
the Victory, whose tonnage he increased to 150 tons. 
She was provisioned for three years. Captain Ross 
chose for his second in command his nephew. Com- 
mander James Ross, who had been with him on his 
first arctic expedition, and had subsequently accompa- 
nied Parry in all his voyages. The other officers of the 
vessel were — Mr. William Thom, purser ; Mr. George 
M'Diarmid, surgeon ; Thomas Blanky,Thos. Abernethy, 
and George Taylor, as 1st, 2d, and 3d, mates ; Alex- 
ander Brunton and Allen Macinnes as 1st and 2d engi- 
neers ; and nineteen petty officers and seamen ; making 
a complement in all of 28 men. 

The Admiralty furnished toward the purposes of the 
expedition a decked boat of sixteen tons, called the 
Krusenstern, and two boats which had been used by 
Franklin, with a stock of books and instruments. 

The vessel being reported ready for sea was visited 
arfd examined by the late Eang of the French, the 
Lords of the Admiralty, and other parties taking an 
interest in the expedition, and set sail from Woolwich 
on the 23d of May, 1829. For all practical purposes 
the steam machinery, on which the commander had 
greatly relied, was found on trial utterly useless. 

Having received much damage to her spars, in a 
severe gale, the ship put in to the Danish settlement of 
Holsteinberg, on the Greenland coast, to refit, and 
sailed again to the northward on the 26th of June. 
They found a. clear sea, and even in the middle of Lan- 
caster Sound and Barrow's Strait perceived no traces 
of ice or snow, except what appeared on the lofty sum- 
mits of some of the mountains. The thermometer stood 
at 40°, and the weather was so mild that the officers 
dined in the cabin without a fire, with the skyliglit 
partially open. On the 10th of August they passed 
Cape York, and thence crossed over into Regent InJf • 



OAFIALN iiOSSb SEOUJ!fD VOYAGE. Ibl 

luakiag the western coast between Seppiug's and Elwin 
Bay on the 16th. 

They here fell in with those formidable streams, 
packs, and floating bergs of ice which had offered such 
obstructions to Parry's ships. From their proximity to 
the magnetic pole, their compasses became useless as 
they proceeded southward. On the 13th they reached 
the spot where the Fury was abandoned, but no rem- 
nants of the vessel were to be seen. All her sails, 
stores, and provisions, on land, were, however, found , 
the hermetically-sealed tin canisters having kept the 
provisions from the attacks of bears ; and the flour, 
bread, wine, spirits, sugar, &c., proved as good, after 
being here four years, as on the first day they were 
packed. This store formed a very seasonable addition, 
which was freely made available, and after increasing 
tlieir stock to two years and ten months' supply, they 
still left a large quantity for the wants of any future 
explorers. On the 15th, crossing Cresswell Bay, they 
reached Cape Garry, the farthest point which had been 
Been by Parry. They were here much inconvenienced 
and delayed by fogs and floating ice. While moun- 
tains of ice were tossing around them on every side, 
they were often forced to seek safety by mooring them- 
selves to these formidable masses, and drifting with 
them, sometimes forward, sometimes backward. In this 
manner on one occasion no less than nineteen miles 
were lost in a few hours ; at other times they under- 
went frequent and severe shocks, yet escaped any seri- 
ous damage. 

Captain Ross draws a lively picture of what a ves- 
sel endures in sailing among these moving hills. He 
reminds the reader that ice is stone, as solid as if it 
were granite ; and he bids him " imagine these moun- 
tains nurled through a narrow strait by a rapid tide, 
meeting with the noise of thunder, breaking from each 
other's precipices huge fragments, or rending each 
other asunder, till, losing their former equilibrium, 
they fell over headlong, lifting the sea around in break- 
ers and whirling it ia eddies There is not a mon^ient 



l58 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERS. 

lu which it can be conjectured what will happen in the 
next ; there is not one which may not be the last. The 
attention is troubled to fix on any thing amid such con 
fusion ; still must it be alive, that it may seize on the 
single moment of help or escape which may occur 
Yet with all this, and it is the hardest task of all, there 
is nothing to be acted, — no effort to be made, — he 
must be patient, as if he were unconcerned or careless, 
waiting, as he best can, for the fate, be it what it may, 
which he cannot influence or avoid." 

Proceeding southward, Ross found Brentford Bay, 
about thirty miles beyond Cape Garry, to be of consid- 
erable extent, with some fine harbors. Landing here, 
the British colors were unfurled, and the coast, named 
after the promoter of the expedition, was taken posses- 
sion of in the name of the King. Extensive and com- 
modious harbors, named Ports Logan, Elizabeth, and 
Eclipse, were discovered, and a large bay, which waa 
called Mary Jones Bay. By the end of September 
the ship had examined 300 miles of undiscovered coast 
The winter now set in with severity, huge masses of 
ice began to close around them, the thermometer sani 
many degrees below freezing point, and snow fell very 
thick. Bj sawing through the ice, the vessel was got 
into a secure position to pass the winter, in a station 
which is now named on the maps Felix Harbor. The 
niachinery of the steam engine was done away with, 
the vessel housed, and every measure that could add to 
the comfort of the crew adopted. They had abundance 
of fuel, and provisions that might easily be extended 
to three years. 

On the 9th of January, 1831, they were visited by a 
large tribe of Esquimaux, who were better dressed and 
cleaner than those more to the northward. They dis- 
played an intimate acquaintance with the situation and 
bearings of the country over which they had traveled, 
and two of them drew a very fair sketch of the neigh- 
boring coasts, with which they were familiar ; this 
was revised and corrected by a learned lady named 
Teriksin, — the females seeming, from this apd former 



OAFrAIN PwOSs's SECOND VOYAGE. 159 

instances, to have a clear knowledge of the hydrography 
and geography of the continent, bays, straits, and riv- 
ers which they had once traversed. 

On the 5th of April, Commander Eoss, with Mr. 
Blanky, the chief mate, and two Esquimaux guides, set 
out to explore a strait which was reported as lying to 
the westward, and which it was hoped might lead to 
the western sea. After a tedious and arduous journey 
they arrived, on the third day, at a bay facing to the 
westward and discovered, further inland, an extensive 
lake, called by the natives ISTie-tyle-le, whence a broad 
river flowed into the bay. Their guides informed them, 
however, there was no prospect of a water comunica- 
tion south of their present position. Capt. Ross then 
traced the coast fifty or sixty miles further south. 

Several journeys were also made by Commander 
Ross, both inland and along the bays and inlets. On 
the 1st of May, from the top of a high hill, he observed 
a large inlet, which seemed to lead to the western sea. 
In order to satisfy himself on this point, he set out 
again on the 17th of May, with provisions for three 
weeks, eight dogs, and three companions. Having 
crossed the great middle lake of the isthmus, he reached 
his former station, and thence traced an inlet which 
was found to be the mouth of a river named by them 
Garry. From the high hill, they observed a chain of 
lakes leading almost to Thom's Bay, the Victory's sta- 
tion in Felix Harbor. Proceeding northwest along the 
coast, they crossed the frozen surface of tlie strait which 
has since been named after Sir James Ross, and came 
to a large island which was called Matty ; keeping 
along its northern shore, and passing over a narrow 
strait, which they named after Wellington, they found 
themselves on what was considered to be the main- 
land, but which the more recent discoveries of Simpson 
have shown to be an island, and which now bears the 
name of King William's Land. Still journeying on- 
ward, with difficulties continually increasing, from 
heavy toil and severe privation, the dogs became ex- 
hausted with fatigue, and a burden rather than an aid 
to the travelers, 



160 PROGKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

One of their greatest embarrassments was, how to 
distinguish between land and sea. " When all is ice, 
and aU one dazzling mass of white — when the surface 
of the sea itself is tossed up and fixed into rocks, while 
the land is, on the contrary, very often flat, it is not 
always so easy a problem as it might seem on a super- 
ficial view, to determine a fact which appears in ^7ords 
to be extremely simple." Although their provisions 
began to fall short, and the party were nearly worn 
out, Commander Ross was most desirous of maKing as 
much western discovery as possible ; therefore, depos- 
iting every thing that could be dispensed with, he 
pushed on, on the 28ih, with only four days' provisions, 
and reached Cape Felix, the most northern point of 
this island, on the following day. The coast here took 
a southwest direction, and there was an unbounded ex- 
panse of ocean in view. The next morning, after hav- 
ing traveled twenty miles farther, they reached a point, 
which Ross called Point Victory, situated in lat. 64^ 
46' 19'', long. 98° 32' 49", while to the most distant one 
in view, estimated to be in long. 99° 17' 58", he gave 
the name of Cape Franklin. However loath to turn 
back, yet prudence compelled them to do so, for as 
they had only ten days' short allowance of food, and 
more than 200 miles to traverse, there could not be a 
moment's hesitation in adopting this step. A high 
cairn of stones was erected before leaving, in which 
was deposited a narrative of their proceedings. 

The party endured much fatigue and suirering on 
their return journey ; of the eight dogs only two sur- 
vived, and the travelers in a most exhausted state ar- 
rived in the neighborhood of the large lakes on the 8th 
of June, where they fortunately fell in with a tribe of 
natives, who received them hospitably, and supplied 
them plentifully with fish, so that after a day's rest 
they resumed their journey, and reached the ship on 
the 13th. Captain Ross in the meanwhile had made a 
partial survey of the Isthmus, and discovered another 
large lake, which he named after Lady Melville. 

After eleven months' imprisonment their little ship 



CAPTJJiS boss's second VOYAGE. 161 

once more floated bnojai>.t on the waves, having been 
released from her icy barrier on the 17th of September, 
but for the next few days made bnt little progress, 
being beaten about among the icebergs, and driven 
hither and thither by the currents. 

A chang^i in the weather, however, took place, and 
on the 23d they were once more frozen in, the sea in a 
week after exhibiting one clear and unbroken surface. 
A.11 October was passed in cutting through the ice into 
a more secure locality, and another dreary winter hav- 
ing set in, it became necessary to reduce the allowance 
of provisions. This winter was one of unparalleled 
severity, tl e thermometer falling 92° below freezing 
point. During the ensuing spring a variety of explo- 
ratory journeys were carried on, and in one of these 
Commander Ross succeeded in planting the British 
flag on the I^orth Magnetic Pole. The position which 
had been usually assigned to this interesting spot by 
the learned of Europe, was lat. 70° ]^., and long. 98^ 
30' W. ; but Ross, by careful observations, determined 
it to lie in lat. 70° 5' 17" IST., and long. 96° 46' 45" W., 
to the southward of Cape E^ikolai, on the western shore 
of Boothia. But it has since been found that the cen- 
ter of magnetic intensity is a movable point revolving 
within the frigid zone. 

" The place of the observatory," Ross remarks, "was 
as ne»r to the magnetic pole as the limited means which 
L possessed enabled me to determine. The amount of 
the dip, as indicated by my dipping-needle, was 89° 
59', being thus within one minute of the vertical ; 
while the proximity at least of this pole, if not its ac- 
tual existence where we stood, was further confirmed 
by the action, or rather by the total inaction, of the 
Reveral horizontal needles then in my possession." 

Parry's observations placed it eleven minutes distant 
only from the site determined by Ross. 

"As soon," continues Ross, "as I had satisfied my 
own mind on the subject, I made known to the party 
this gratifying result of all our joint labors ; and it was 
then tl'at, amidst mutual congratulations, we fixed th*. 



162 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

British fiag on the spot, and took possession of the 
Nortli Magnetic Pole and its adjoining territory in tlie 
name of Great Britain and King William lY. We 
had abundance of materials for building in the frag- 
ments of limestone that covered the beach, and we 
therefore erected a cairn of some magnitude, under 
which we buried a canister containing a record of the 
interesting fact, only regretting that we had not the 
means of constructing a pyramid of more importance, 
and of strength sufficient to withstand the assaults of 
time and of the Esquimaux. Had it been a pyramid 
as large as that of Cheops, I am not quite sure that it 
would have done more than satisfy our ambition under 
the feelings of that exciting day." 

On the 28th of August, 1831, they contrived to warp 
the Victory out into the open sea, and made sail on 
the following morning, but were soon beset with ice, 
as on the former occasion, 'being once more completely 
frozen in by the 27th of September. 

On the previous occasion their navigation had been 
three miles; this year it extended to four. This pro- 
tracted detention in the ice made their present posi- 
tion one of great danger and peril. As there seemed 
no prospect of extracting their vessel, the resolution 
was come to of abandoning her, and making the best 
of their way up the inlet to Fury Beach, there to avail 
themselves of the boats, provisions, and stores, wlii-^h 
would assist them in reaching Davis' Straits, where 
they might expect to fall in with one of the w^hale 
ships. 

On the 23d of April, 1832, having collected all that 
was useful and necessary, the expedition set oiit, drag- 
ging their provisions and boats over a vast expanse of 
rugged ice. "The loads being too heavy to be car- 
ried at once, made it necessary to g!) backward and 
forward twice, and even oftener, the same day. TKey 
had to encounter dreadful tempests of snow and dri\\ 
and to make several circuits in order to avoid impaty 
sable barriers. The general result was, that by the 
I2th of May they had traveled 329 miles to gain tliirtv 



CAi*tAm BOSSES SECOND YOtACHfi. 163 

In a direct line, having in this labor expended a 
month." After this preliminary movement, they bade 
a farewell to their little vessel, nailing her colors to 
the mast. Capt. Ross describes himself as deeply af- 
fected ; this being the first vessel he had been obliged 
to abandon of thirty-six in which he had served dur 
ing the course of forty-two years. On the 9th of June 
Commander Koss and two others, with a fortnight's 
provisions, left the main body, w^ho were more heav 
ily loaded, to ascertain the state of the boats and sup- 
plies at Fury Beach. Keturning they met their com- 
rades on the 25th of June, reporting that they had 
found three of the boats washed away, but enough still 
left for their purpose, and all the provisions were in 
good condition. The remainder of the journey was 
accomplished by the whole party in a week, and on 
the 1st of July they reared a canvas mansion, to 
which they gave the name of Somerset House, and 
enjoyed a hearty meal. 

Bj the Ist of August the boats were rendered ser- 
viceable, and a considerable extent of open sea being 
visible, they set out, and after much buffeting among 
the ice in their frail shallops, reached the mouth of 
the inlet by the end of August. After several fruit> 
less attempts to run along Barrow's Strait, the obstruc- 
tions of the ice obliged them to haul the boats on shore, 
and pitch their tents. Barrow's Strait was found, from 
repeated surveys, to be one impenetrable mass of ice. 
After lingering here till the third week in September, 
it was unanimously agreed that their only resource 
was to fall back on the stores at Fury Beach, and there 
spend their fourth winter. They were only able to get 
half the distance in the boats, which were hauled on 
shore in Batty Bay on the 24th of September, and 
the rest of their journey continued on foot, the pro- 
visions being dragged on sledges. On the 7th of Oc- 
tober they once more reached their home at the scene 
of the wreck. They now managed to shelter their 
canvas tent by a wall of snow, and setting up an ex- 
tra stove, made themselves tolerably comfortable unti] 



164 PROGR^S OF ARCTIC WSCOVERlT. 

the increasing severity of the winter, and rigor of 
the cold, added to the tempestuous weather, made 
them perfect prisoners, and sorely tried their patience. 
Scurvy now began to attack several of the party, and 
on the 16th of February, 1833, Thomas, the carpenter, 
fell a victim to it, and two others died. " Their situ- 
ation was becoming truly awful, since, if they were 
not liberated in the ensuing summer, little prospect 
appeared of their surviving another year. It was 
necessary to make a reduction in the allowance of 
preserved meats ; bread was somewhat deficient, and 
the stock of wine and spirits was entirely exhausted. 
However, as they caught a few foxes, which were con- 
sidered a delicacy, and there was plenty of flour, 
sugar, soups, and vegetables, a diet could be easily 
arranged sufficient to support the party." 

While the ice remained firm, advantage was taken 
of the spring to carry forward a stock of provisions to 
Batty Bay, and this, though only thirty-two miles, oc- 
cupied them a whole month, owing to their reduced 
numbers from sickness and heavy loads, with the jour- 
ney ings to and fro, having to go over the ground eight 
times. 

On the 8th of July they finally abandoned this de- 
pot, and encamped on the 12th at their boat station in 
Batty Bay, where the aspect of the sea was watched 
with intense anxiety for more than a month. On the 
15th of August, taking advantage of a lane of water 
which led to the northward, the party embarked, and 
on the following morning had got as far as the turn- 
ing point of their last year's expedition. Making their 
way slowly among the masses of ice with which the 
!nlet was encumbered, on the lYth they found the wide 
expanse of Barrow's Stijait open before them, and nav- 
igable, and reached to within twelve miles of Cape 
Fork. Pushing on with renewed spirits, alternately 
owing and sailing, on the night of the 25th they 
.ested in a good harbor on the eastern shore of ]N"avy 
Board Inlet. At four on the following morning they 
were rou'^ed frori their slumbers by the joyful intelli 




" The wolves came within musket-rayit/e." — Page 



CAPTAIN Ross's SECOND VOYAGE. 1^5 

gence of a ship being in sight, and never did men 
more hurriedly and energetically set out ; but the ele- 
ments conspiring against them, after being baffled by 
calms and currents, they had the misery to see the 
ship leave them with a fair breeze, and found it im- 
possible to overtake her, or make themselves seen. A 
few hours later, however, their despair was relieved by 
the sight of another vessel which was lying to in a calm. 
By dint of hard rowing they were this time more for 
tunate, and soon came up with her ; she proved to be 
the Isabella, of Hull, the very ship in which Ross had 
made his first voyage to these seas. Caj^t. Koss was 
told circumstantially of his own death, &c., two years 
previously, and he had some difficulty in convincing 
them that it was really he and his party who now stood 
before them. So great was the joy with which they 
were received, that the Isabella manned her yards, 
and her former commander and his gallant band of 
adventurers were saluted with three hearty cheers. 
The scene on board can scarcely be described ; each 
of the crew vied with the other in assisting and com- 
forting the party, and it cannot better be told than in 
Ross's own words : — 

" The ludicrous soon took place of all other feelings ; 
in such a crowd, and such confusion, all serious thought 
was impossible, while the new buoyancy of our spirits 
made us abundantly willing to be amused by the scene 
which now opened. Every man was hungry, and was 
to be fed ; all were ragged, and were to be clothed ; 
there was not one to whom washing was not indispen- 
sable, nor one whom his beard did not deprive of all 
human semblance. All, every thing too, was to be done 
at once : it was washing, shaving, dressing, eating, all 
intermingled ; it was all the materials of each jumbled 
together, while in the midst of all there were intermina- 
ble questions to be asked and answered on both sides * 
the adventures of the Yictory, our own escapes, the 
politics of England, and the news whicb was now four 
years old. 

" But all subsided into peace at last. The sick were 



1^6 f^EOGEESS OF ARCTIC DISOOVEEY. 

aocommodated, the seamen disposed of, and all wa^ 
done for us which care and kindness could perform. 

" Night at length brought qniet and serious thoughts, 
and I trust there was not a man among us who did not 
then express, where it was due, his gratitude for that 
interposition which had raised us all from a despair 
which none could now forget, and had brought us from 
the very borders of a most distant grave, to life and 
friends and civilization. Long accustomed, however, 
to a cold bed on the hard snow or the bare rock, few 
could sleep amid the comfort of our new accommoda- 
tions. I was myself compelled to leave the bed which 
had been kindly assigned me, and take my abode in a 
chair for the night, nor did it fare much better with the 
rest. It was for time to reconcile us to this sudden and 
violent change, to break through what had become 
habit, and inure us once more to the usages of our 
former days." 

The Isabella remained some time longer to prosecute 
the fishery, and left Davis' Strait on her homeward 
passage on the 30th September. On the 12th of Oc- 
tober they made the Orkney Islands, and arrived at 
Hull on the 18th. The bold explorers, who had long 
been given up as lost, were looked upon as men risen 
from the grave, and met and escorted by crowds of 
sympathizers. A public entertainment was given to 
them by the townspeople, at which the freedom of the 
town was presented to Captain Koss, and next day he 
left for London, to report to the Admiralty, and was 
honored by a presentation to the king at Windsor. 

The Admiralty liberally rewarded all the parties, 
except indeed Captain Ross. Commander J. C. Ross 
was appointed to the guardship at Portsmouth to com- 
plete his period of service, and then received hisipost 
rank. Mr. Thom, the purser, Mr. M'Diarmid, the sur- 
geon, and the petty officers, were appointed to good 
situations in the navy. The seamen received the usual 
double pay given to arctic explorers, up to the time 
of leaving tlieir ship, and full pay from that date unti? 
their arrival in England. 



CAPTAIN ROSSES 8ECONI) VOYAGE. 167 

A committee of the House of Commons took up the 
case of Captain Ross early in the session of 1834, and 
on their recommendation 5,000Z.was granted him as a 
remuneration for his pecuniary outlav and privations. 

A baronetcy, on the recommendation of the same 
committee, was also conferred by his Majesty William 
lY. on Mr. Felix Booth. 

In looking back on the results of this voyage, no im- 
partial inquirer can deny to Captain Ross the merit of 
having effected much good by tracing and surveying 
the whole of the long western coast of Regent Inlet, 
proving Boothia to be a peninsula, and setting at rest 
the probability of any navigable outlet being discovered 
from this inlet to the Polar Sea. The lakes, rivers and 
islands which were examined, proved with sufficient 
accuracy the correctness of the information furnished to 
Parry by the Esquimaux. 

To Commander James Ross is due the credit of 
resolving many important scientific questions, such as 
the combination of light with magnetism, fixing the 
exact position of the magnetic pole. He was also the 
only person in the expedition competent to make obser- 
vations in geology, natural history and botany. Out 
of about 700 miles of new land igxplored. Commander 
Ross, in the expeditions which he planned and con- 
ducted, discovered nearly 500. He had, up to this 
fime, passed fourteen summers and eight winters in 
these seas. 

The late Sir John Barrow, in his " Narrative of Voy- 
ages of Discovery and Research,^' p. 518, in opposition 
to Ross's opinion, asserted that Boothia was not joined 
to the continent, but that they were "completely divi- 
ded by a navigable strait, ten miles wide and upward, 
leading past Back's Estuary, and into the Gulf (of 
Boothia,) of which the proper name is Akkolee, not 
Boothia ; and moreover, that the two seas flow as freely 
into each other as Lancaster Sound does into the Polar 
Bea." This assumption has since been shown to be 
incorrect. Capt. Ross asserts there is a diff'erence itj 
the level of these two seas. 



i6B PROGRESS OF ARCTIO DISCOYERY. 

I may here fitl}' take a review of Captain R» ^s's ser- 
vices. He entered the navy in 1Y90, served fifteen yeaia 
as a midshipman, seven as a lieutenant, and seven as a 
commander, and was posted on the 7th of December, 
1818, and appointed to the command of the first arctic 
(Expedition of this century. On his return he received 
many marks of faror from continental sovereigns, was 
knighted and made a Companion of the Bath on tho 
24th of December, 1834 ; made a Commander of the 
Sword of Sweden, a Knight of the Second Class of St 
Anne of Prussia (in diamonds,) Second Cla^s of the 
Legion of Honor, and of the Red Eagle of Prussia, and 
of Leopold of Belgium. Received the royal premiun 
from the Geographical Society of London, in 1833, fo 
his discoveries in the arctic regions ; also gold medal- 
from the Geographical Society of Paris, and the Royrj 
Societies of Sweden, Austria, and Denmark. The free- 
dom of the cities of London, Liverpool, and Bristol : 
six gold snufi'-boxes from Russia, Holland, Denmark 
Austria, London and Baden; a sword valued at lOr 
guineas from the Patriotic Fund, for his sufferings, hav 
ing been wounded thirteen times in three difterent 
actions during the war ; and one of the value of 200/. 
from the King of Sweden, for service in tlie Baltic and 
tlie White Sea. On the 8th of March, 1839, he waa 
appointed to the lucrative post of British consul at 
Stockholm, which he held for six years. 

Captain Back's Land Joijrney, 1833-35. 

Four years having elapsed without any tidings being 
received of Capt. Ross and his crew, it began to be 
generally feared in Enghmd that they had been added 
to the number of former sufferers, in the prosecution of 
their arduous undertaking. 

Dr. Richardson, who nad himself undergone sucli 
frightful perils in the arctic regions with Franklin, was 
the first to call ]>ublic attention to the subject, in a letter 
to the Geograpliic[il Society, in which he suggested a 
projoct tor relieving them, if stiP alive and to be found.; 



CAPTAIN back's LAND JOURNEY. 16^ 

and at the same time volunteered his services to the 
Colonial Secretary of the day, to conduct an exploring 
party. 

Although the expedition of Capt. Ross was not under- 
tuken under the auspices of government, it became a 
national concern to ascertain the ultimate fate of it, and 
to make some effort for the relief of the party, whose 
home at that time might be the boisterous sea, or whose 
shelter the snow hut or the floating iceberg. Dr. Rich- 
ardson proposed to proceed from Hudson's Bay, in a 
northwest direction to Coronation Gulf, where he was 
to commence his search in an easterly direction. Pass- 
ing to the north, along the eastern side of this gulf, he 
would arrive at Point Turnagain, the eastern point of 
his own former discovery. Having accomplished this, 
he would continue his search toward the eastward until 
he reached Melville Island, thus perfecting geographical 
discovery in that quarter, and a continued coast line 
might be laid down from the Fury and Hecla Strait to 
Beechey Point, leaving only the small space betweeri 
Franklin's discovery and that of the Blossom unexplored. 
The proposal was favorably received ; but owing to the 
political state of the country at the time, the oner was 
not accepted. 

A meeting was held in l!^ovember, 1832, at the rooms 
of the Horticultural Society, in Regent street, to obtain 
funds, and arrange for fitting out a private relief expe- 
dition, as the Admiralty and Government were unable 
to do this officially, in consequence of Captain Ross's 
expedition not being a public one. Sir George Cock- 
burn took the chair, and justly observed that those offi- 
cers who devoted their time to the service of science, 
and braved in its pursuit the dangers of unknown and 
nngenial climates, demanded the sympathy and assist- 
ance of all. Great Britain had taken the lead in geo- 
graphical discovery, and there was not one in this coun- 
try who did not feel pride and honor in the fame she 
had attained by the expeditions of Parry and Franklin ; 
but if we wished to create future Parrys and Franklins, 
if we wished to enooin'ao^;^ Bi-it'sh enterprise and com 



170 l^ROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

age, we must prove that the officer who is out of sight 
of his countrymen is not forgotten ; that there is con 
s '.deration for his suiferings, and appreciation of his 
spirit. This reflection will cheer him in the hour of 
trial, and will permit him, when surrounded by dangers 
and privations, to indulge in hope, the greatest blessing 
of man. Captain George Back, R. N., who was in 
Italy when the subject was first mooted, hastened to 
England, and offered to lead the party, and his services 
were accepted. A subscription was entered into, to 
defray the necessary expenses, and upward of 6000L 
was raised ; of this sum, at the recommendation of Lord 
Goderich, the then Secretary of State, the Treasury con- 
tributed 2000Z. 

After an interview with the king at Brighton, to which 
he was specially summoned. Captain Back made prepa- 
rations for his journey, and laid down his plan of opera- 
tions. In order to facilitate his views, and give him 
greater authority over his men, special instructions and 
authority were issued by the Colonial Office, and the 
Hudson's Bay Company granted him a commission in 
their service, and placed every assistance at his disposal 
throughout their territory in JS^orth America. 

Every thing being definitely arranged, Capt. Back, 
accompanied by Dr. Richard King as surgeon and natu- 
ralist, with three men who had been on the expedition 
with Franklin, left Liverpool on the 17th of February, 
1833, in one of the New York packet ships, and arrived 
in America after a stormy passage of thirty-five days. 
He proceeded on to Montreal, where he had great diffi- 
culty in preventing two of the men from leaving him, 
as their hearts began to fail them at the prospect of 
the severe journey with its attendant difficulties, which 
they had to encounter. 

Four volunteers from the Royal Artillery corps here 
joined him, and some voyageurs having been engaged, 
the party left, in two canoes, on the 25th of April. Two 
of his pai'ty deserted from him in the Ottawa river. 

On tliC 2Sth of June, having obtained his comple- 
ment of men. he may be said to have commenced hi* 



CAPTAIN back's LAND JOURNEY. 171 

journey. The}'^ siiiFered dreadfully from myriads of 
B.;nd-flies and musquitoes, being so disfigured by their 
attacks that their features could scarcely be recognized. 
Horse-flies, appropriately styled " bull-dogs," were an- 
other dreadful pest, which pertinaciously gorged them- 
selves, like the leech, until they seemed ready to burst. 

" It is in vain to attempt to defend yourself against 
these puny bloodsuckers ; though you crush thousands 
of them, tens of thousands arise to avenge the death of 
their companions, and you very soon discover that the 
conflict which you are waging is one in which you are 
sure to be defeated. So great at last are the pains and 
fatigue in buffeting away this attacking force, that in 
despair you throw yourself, half suffocated, in a blanket, 
with your face upon the ground, and snatcli a few min- 
utes of sleepless rest." Capt. Back adds that the vig- 
orous and unintermitting assaults of these tormenting 
pests conveyed the moral lesson of man's helplessness, 
since, with all our boasted strength, we are unable to 
repel these feeble atoms of creation. "How," he says, 
" can I possibly give an idea of the torment we endured 
from the sand-flies ? As we divided into the confined 
and suffocating chasms, or waded through the close 
swamps, they rose in clouds, actually darkening the air ; 
to see or to speak was equally difficult, for they lushed 
at every undefended part, and fixed their poisonous 
fangs in an instant. Our faces streamed with blood, as 
if leeches had been applied, and there was a burning 
and irritating pain, followed by immediate inflamma- 
tion, and producing giddiness, which almost drove us 
mad, and caused us to moan with pain and agony. 

At the Pine portage, Captain Back engaged the 
Services of A. B. McLeod, in the employ of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, and who had been fixed upon by 
Governor Simpson, to aid the expedition. Pie was 
accompanied by his wife, three children, and a ser- 
vant ; and had just returned from the Mackenzie River, 
with a large cargo of furs. The whole family were at- 
tached to the party, and after some detentions of a 
general and unimportant character they arrived at 

11 



172 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Fort Chipewyan on the 20th of July. Fort Eesoiu 
tion, on Great Slave Lake, was reached on the 8th oi 
August. 

The odd assemblage of goods and voyageurs in theii 
encampment are thus graphically described by the 
traveler, as he glanced around him. 

" At my feet was a rolled bundle in oil-cloth, con- 
taining some three blankets, called a bed; near it a 
piece of dried buffalo, fancifully ornamented with long 
black hairs, which no art, alas, can prevent from insin- 
uating themselves between the teeth, as you laboriously 
masticate the tough, hard flesh ; then a tolerabl_y clean 
napkin, spread by way of table-cloth, on a red ])iece of 
canvas, and supporting a tea-pot, some biscuits, and a 
salt-cellar ; near this a tin plate, close by a square kind 
of box or safe of the same material, rich with a pale, 
greasy hair, the produce of the colony at Red liiver ; 
and the last, the far-renowned J9em??^^c<x?^, unquestion- 
ably the best food of the country for expeditions such 
as ours. Behind me were two boxes containing astro- 
nomical instruments, and a sextant lying on the ground, 
while the different corners of the tent were occupied 
by a washing apparatus, a gun, an Indian sliot-pouch, 
bags, basins, and an unhappy-looking japanned pot, 
whose melancholy bumps and hollows seemed to re- 
proach me for many a bruise endured upon the rocks 
and portages between Montreal and Lake Winnipeck. 
Kor were my crew less motley than the furniture of 
the tent. It consisted of an Englishman, a man from 
Stornaway, two Canadians, two Metifs or half-breeds, 
and three Iroquois Indians. Babel could not have pro- 
duced a worse confusion of unharmonious sounds than 
was the conversation they kept up." 

Having obtained at Fort Eesolution all possible in- 
formation, from the Indians and others, relative to the 
course of the northern rivers of which he was in search, 
he divided his crew into two parties, five of whom were 
left as an escort for Mr. McLeod, and four were to ac- 
company himself in search of the Great Fish River, 
dnce appropriately ramed after Back himself. 



CAPTAIN back's LAND JOURNEY. 173 

On the 19th of August they began the ascent oi the 
Hoar Frost River, whose course was a series of the 
most fearful cascades and rapids. The woods here 
were so thick as to render them almost impervious 
consisting chiefly of stunted firs, which occasioned in 
finite trouble to the party to force their way through 
added to which, they had to clamber over fallen trees 
through rivulets, and over bogs and swamps, until the 
difficulties appeared so appalling, as almost to dis- 
hearten the party from prosecuting their journey. The 
heart of Captain Back was, however, of too stern a cast 
to be dispirited by difficulties, at which less persever 
'.ng explorers would have turned away discomfited, 
and cheering on his men, like a bold and gallant leader, 
the first in the advance of danger, they arriA^ed at length 
in an open space, where they rested for aw^hile to recruit 
their exhausted strength. The place was, indeed, one 
of barrenness and desolation ; crag was piled upon crag 
to the height of 2000 feet from the base, and the course 
of the river here, in a state of contraction, w^as marked 
by an uninterrupted line of foam. 

However great the beauty of the scenery may be, 
and however resolute may be the will, severe toil will 
at length relax the spirits, and bring a kind of despon- 
dency upon a heart naturally bold and undaunted. This 
was found particularly the case now with the intei'pre- 
ter, who became a dead weight upon the party. Rapid 
now succeeded rapid ; scarcely had they surmounted 
one fall than another presented itself, rising like an am- 

Ehitheater before them to the height of fifty feet. They 
owever, gained at length the ascent of this turbulen 
and unfriendly river, the romantic beauty and wild 
scenery of which were strikingly grand, and after pass 
ing successively a series of portages, rapids, falls, lakes, 
and rivers, on the 27th Back observed from the summit 
of a high hill a very large lake full of deep bays and 
islands, and which has been named Aylmer Lake, after 
the Governor-General of Canada at that time. The 
boat was sent out with three men to search for the lake, 
or outlet of the river, which they discovered on the see- 



j r4 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

ond da J, and Captain Back himself, during their ab- 
sence, also accidentally discovered its source in the 
Sand Hill Lake, not far from his encampment. 'Not 
prouder was Bruce when he stood on the green sod 
which covers the source of the ISTile, than was Captain 
Back when he found that he was standing at the source 
of a river, the existence of which was known, but the 
course of which was a problem, no traveler had yet ven- 
tured to solve. Yielding to that pleasurable emotion 
which discoverers, in the first bound of their transport, 
may be pardoned for indulging, Back tells us he threw 
himself down on the bank and drank a hearty draught 
of the limpid water. 

" For this occasion," he adds, " I had reserved a lit- 
tle grog, and need hardly say with what cheerfulness 
it was shared among the crew, w^hose welcome tidings 
had verified the notion of Dr. Richardson and myself, 
and thus placed beyond doubt the existence of the 
Thlew-ee-choh, or Great Fish River. 

On the 30th of August, they began to move toward 
the river, but on reaching Musk-ox Lake, it was found 
impossible to stand the force of the rapids in their frail 
canoe, and as winter was approaching, their retm'n to 
the rendezvous on Slave Lake was determined on. 

At Clinton Colden Lake, some Indians visited them 
from the Chief Akaitcho, who, it will be remembered. 
was the guide of Sir John Franklin. Two of these In- 
dians remembered Captain Back, one having accom- 
panied him to the Coppermine River, on Franklin's 
first expedition. 

At the Cat or Artillery Lake, they had to abandon 
their canoe, and perform the rest of the journey on foot 
over precipitous rocks, through frightful gorges and ra- 
vines, heaped with masses of granite, and along narrow 
ledges, where a false step would have been fatal. 

At Fort Reliance, the party found Mr. McLeod had, 
(luring their absence, erected the frame-work of a com- 
fortable residence for them, and all hands set to worli 
to complete it. After many obstacles and difficulties 
it was nnished. 



CAl'TALN sack's LAND JOURNEY. ITi 

Dr. King joined them on the 16th of Sej)tember, witL 
two laclcii bateaux. 

On the 5th of ITovember, they exchanged their cold 
tents for the new house, which was fifty feet long by 
thirt}^ broad, and contained four rooms, besides a spa- 
cious hall in the center, for the reception and accom- 
modation of the Indians, to which a sort of rude kitchen 
was attached. 

As the winter advanced, bands of starving Indians 
continued to arrive, in the hope of obtaining some re- 
lief, as little or nothing was to be procured by hunting. 
They would stand around while the men were taking 
their meals, watching every mouthful with the most 
longing, imploring look, but yet never uttered a com- 
plaint. 

At other times they would, seated round the fire, oc- 
cupy themselves in roasting and devouring small bits 
of their reindeer garments, which, even when entire, 
afforded them a very insufficient protection against a 
temperature of 102° below freezing point. 

The sufferings of the poor Indians at this period are 
described as frightful. " Famine with her gaunt and 
bony arm," says Back, " pursued them at every turn, 
withered their energies, and strewed them lifeless on 
the cold bosom of the snow." It was impossible to 
afford relief out of their scanty store to all, but even 
small portions of the mouldy pemmican intended for 
the dogs, unpalatable as it was, was gladly received, 
and saved many from perishing. " Often," adds Back, 
" did I share my own plate with the children whose 
helpless state and piteous cries were peculiarly distress- 
ing ; compassion for the full-grown may, or may not, 
be felt, but that heart must be cased in steel which is 
insensible to the cry of a child for food." 

At this critical juncture, Akaitcho made his appear- 
ance with an opportune supply of a little meat, which 
in some measure enabled Captain Back to relieve the 
sufferers around him, many of whom, to his great de- 
light, went away with Akaitcho. The stock of meat 
was soon exhausted, and they had to open their pern- 



176 PKOGBESS OF AEOTIC DISCOVEKY. 

mican. The officers contented themselves with the 
short supply of half a pound a day, but the laboring 
men could not do with less than a pound and three- 
quarters. The cold now set in with an intensity which 
Captain Back had never before experienced, — the ther- 
mometer, on the 17th of January, being 70° below zero. 
" Such indeed, (he says,) was the abstraction of heat, 
that with eight large logs of dry wood on the fire, I 
could not get the thermometer higher than 12° below 
zero. Ink and paint froze. The sextant cases and 
boxes of seasoned wood, principally fir, all split. The 
skin of the hands became dry, cracked and opened 
into unsightly and smarting gashes, which we were 
obliged to anoint wilih grease. On one occasion, after 
washing my face within three feet of the fire, my hair 
was actually clotted with ice before I had time to dry it." 

The hunters suffered severely from the intensity of 
.he cold, and compared the sensation of handling their 
guns to that of touching red-hot iron, and so excessive 
was the pain, that they were obliged to wrap thongs of 
leatlier round the triggers to keep their fingers from 
coming into contact with the steel. 

The sufierings which the party now endured were 
great, and had it not been for the exemplary conduct 
of Akaitcho in procuring them game, it is to be doubted 
whetlier any would have survived to tell the misery 
they had endured. The sentiments of this worthy sav 
age were nobly expressed — " The great chief trusts in 
us, and it is better that ten Indians perish, than that 
one white man should perish through our negligence 
and breach of faith." 

On the 14th of February, Mr. McLeod and his family 
removed to a place half way between the fort and the 
Indians, in order to facilitate their own support, and 
assist in procuring food by hunting. His situation, 
how^ever, became soon one of the greatest embarrass- 
ment, he and his family being surrounded by difficul- 
ties, privations, and deaths. Six of the natives neai 
him sank under the horrors of starvation, and Akaitch( 
and his hunters were twelve days' march distant. 



CAPTAIN back's LAND JOURNEY. 177 

Toward the end of April, Capt. Back began to make 
arrangements for constructing boats for prosecuting the 
expedition once more, and while so employed, on the 
25th a messenger arrived with the gratifying intelli- 
gence, that Capt. Ross had arrived safely in England, 
confirmation of which, was afforded in extracts from 
the Times and Herald^ and letters from the long lost 
adventurers themselves. Their feelings at these glad 
tidings are thus described : — " In the fullness of our 
hearts we assembled together, and humbly offered up 
9ur thanks to that merciful Providence, who in the 
beautiful language of scripture hath said, ' Mine owu 
will I bring again, as I did sometime from the deeps 
of the sea.' The thought of so wonderful a preserva- 
tion overpowered for a time the common occurrences 
of life. We had just sat down to breakfast ; but our 
appetite was gone, and the day was passed in a fever- 
ish state of excitement. Seldom, indeed, did my friend 
Mr. King or I indulge in a libation, but on this joyful 
occasion economy was forgotten ; a treat was given to 
the men, and for ourselves the social sympathies were 
quickened by a generous bowl of punch." Capt. Back's 
former interpreter, Augustus, hearing that he was in 
the country, set out on foot from Hudson's Bay to join 
him, but getting separated from his two companions, 
the gallant little felk\? was either exhausted by suffer- 
ing and privations, or, caught in the midst of an open 
traverse, in one of those terrible snow storms which 
may be raid to blow almost through the frame, he had 
sunk to ]'ise no more, his bleached remains being dis> 
covered not far from the Kiviere a Jean. " Such," 
says Capt. Back, " was the miserable end of poor Au- 
gustus, a faithful, disinterested, kind-hearted creature, 
who had won the regard, not of myself only, but ] 
may add, of Sir J. Franklin and Dr. Richardson also, 
by qualities which, wherever found, in the lowest as ip 
the highest forms of social life, are the ornament ar*d 
charm of humanity." 

On the 7th of June, all the preparations being com- 
I ^eted, McLeod having been previously sent on to hunt, 



178 ■ PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

and deposit casks of moat at various stages, Back set 
out with Mr. Iving, accom23anied by four voyagers and 
an Indiaii guide. The stores not required were buried^ 
and the doors and windows of the house blocked up. 

At Artillery Lake, Back picked up the remainder 
of his party, with the carpenters who had been em 
ployed preparing boats. The lightest and best was 
chosen and placed on runners plated with iron, and in 
this manner she was drawn over the ice bv two men and 
six fine dogs. The eastern shore of the lake was fol- 
lowed, as it was found less rocky and precipitous than 
the opposite one. The march was prosecuted by night, 
the air being more fresh and pleasant, and the party 
took rest in the day. The glare of the ice, the diffi- 
culty encountered in getting the boat along, the ice be- 
ing so bad that the spikes of the runners cut through 
instead of sliding over it, and the thick snow which 
fell in June, greatly increased the labor of getting along. 
The cold, raw wind pierced through them in spite of 
cloaks and blankets. After being caulked, the boat 
was launched on the 14th of June, the lake being suf- 
ficiently unobstructed to admit of her being towed 
along shore. The weather now became exceedingly' 
unpleasant — hail, snow, and rain, pelted them one aftei 
the other for some time without respite, and then only 
yielded to squalls that overturned the boat. With 
alternate spells and baitings to rest, they however, 
gradually advanced on the traverse, and were really 
making considerable progress when pelting showers of 
sleet and drift so dimmed and confused the sight, dark- 
ening the atmosphere, and limiting their view to only 
a few paces before them, as to render it an extremely 
perplexing task to keep their course. 

On the 23d of June, they fortunately fell in witli a 
cache made for them by their civant-courier^ Mr. Mc- 
Leod, in which was a seasonable supply of deer and 
musk-ox flesh, the latter, however, so impregnated with 
th.e odor from which it takes its name, that the men de 
clartnl they would rather starve three days than swal 
low a mouthful of it. To remove this unfavoral^lc iui 



captatK Hacks land joueney. 179 

pi-ession, Capt. Back ordered tlie daily rations to he 
served from it for bis own mess as well as theirs, tak- 
ing occasion at the same time, to impress on their minds 
the injurious consequences of voluntary abstinence, 
and the necessity of accommodating their tastes to 
such food as the country might supply. Soon after an- 
other cache was met with, thus making eleven animals 
in all, that had been thus obtained and secured for 
them by the kind care of Mr. McLeod. 

On the 2Tth, they reached Sandy Hill Bay, where 
they found Mr. McLeod encamped. On the 28th, the 
boat being too frail to be dragged over the portage, 
about a quarter of a mile in length, was carried bodily 
by the crew, and launched safely in the Thlew-ee-choh 
or Fish E-iver. After crossing the portage beyond 
Musk-ox Bapid, about four miles in length, and having 
all his party together. Captain Back took a survey ol 
his provisions for the three months of operations, which 
he found to consist of two boxes of maccaroni, a case 
of cocoa, twenty-seven bags of pemmican of about 80 
lbs. each, and a keg with two gallons of rum. This he 
considered an adequate supply if all turned out sound 
and good. The difficulty, however, of transporting a 
weight of 5000 lbs, over ice and rocks, by a circuitous 
route of full 200 miles, may be easily conceived, not to 
mention the pain endured in walking on some parts 
wliere the ice formed innumerable spikes that pierced 
like needles, and in other places where it was so black 
and decayed, that it threatened at every step to engulf 
the adventurous traveler. These and similar difficul 
ties could only be overcome by the most steady perse 
verance, and the most determined resolution. 

Among the group of dark figures huddled together 
in the Indian encampment around them, Capt. Back 
found liis old acquaintance, the Indian beauty of whom 
mention is made in Sir John Franklin's narrative un- 
der the name of Green Stockings. Although sur- 
rounded with a family, with one urchin in her cloak 
clins^ino^ to her back, and scA^eral other maternal ac- 
3omi:>animents. Capt. Back immediately recognized 

H 



18C PROGRESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

her, and called her by her name, at which she hitighed, 
and said she was an old woman now, and begged that 
she mierht be relieved by the " medicine man ^' for shs 
was very much out of health. However, notwithstand- 
ing all this, she was still the beauty of her tribe, and 
with that consciousness which belongs to all belles, sa\ - 
age or polite, she seemed by no means displeased wh j i 
Dack sketched her portrait. 

Mr. McLcod w^as now sent back, taking witli him t3i 
persons and fourteen dogs. His instructions w-ere to 
proceed to Fort Resolution for the stores expected to be 
sent there by the Hudson's Bay Company, to build ii 
house in some good locality, for a permanent fishiuj 
station, and to be again on the banks of the Fish River 
by the middle of September, to afford Back and his 
[;<arty any assistance or relief they might require. 

The old Indian chief Akaitcho, hearing from the in- 
terpreter that Capt. Back was in his immediate neigh- 
borliood, said, "I have know^n the cliief a long time, 
and I am afraid I shall never see him again ; I will go 
to him." On his arrival he cautioned Back against the 
dangers of a river which he distinctly told him the 
present race of Indians knew nothing of. He also 
warned him against the treachery of tlie Esquimaux, 
wliich he said was always masked under the guise of 
friendship, observing they would attack him when lie 
least expected it. " I am afraid," continued the good 
old chief, " that I shall never see you again ; but should 
you escape from the great water, take care you are not 
caught by the winter, and thrown into a situation like 
tliat in w^hich you were on your return from the Cop- 
permine, for you are alone, and the Indians cannot 
assist you." 

The carpenters, with an Iroquois, not being further 
required, were dismissed to join Mr. McLeod, and on 
the 8th of July they proceeded down the river. The 
boat was now launched and laden with her cargo, which, 
f.ogetlier with ten persons, she stowed well enough for 
a smootli river, but not tor a lake or sea way. The 
welglit was calcuhited at 3300 lbs., exclusive of the 
awninj;, ])olos. sails, &c., and the crew. 



uAJprAtN Back's land jouiiKE^. 181 

Their progress to the sea was now one continued suc- 
cession of dangerous and formidable faUs, rapids, and 
cataracts, which frequently made Back hold his breath, 
expecting to see the boat dashed to shivers against some 
protruding rocks amidst the foam and fury at the foot 
of a rapid. The only wonder is how in their frail leaky 
boat they ever shot one of the rapids. Rapid after 
rapid, and fall after fall, were passed, each accompa- 
nied with more or less danger ; and in one instance the 
boat was only saved by all hands jumping into the 
breakers, and keeping her stern up the stream, until 
she was cleared from a rock that had brought her up. 

They had hardly time to get into their places again, 
when they were carried with considerable velocity 
past a river which joined from the westward. After 
passing no less than five rapids within the distance of 
three miles, they came to one long and appalling one, 
full of rocks and large boulders ; the sides hemmed in 
by a wall of ice, and the current flying with the veloc- 
ity and force of a torrent. The boat was lightened of 
her cargo, and Capt. Back placed himself on a high 
rock, with an anxious desire to see her run the rapid. 
He had every hope which confidence in the judgment 
and dexterity of his principal men could inspire, but it 
was impossible not to feel that one crash would be fatal 
to the expedition. Away they went with the speed of 
an arrow, and in a moment the foam and rocks hid 
them from view. Back at last heard what sounded in 
his ear like a wild shriek, and he saw Dr. King, who 
was a hundred yards before him, make a sign with his 
gun, and then run forward. Back followed with an 
agitation which may be easily conceived, when to his 
inexpressible joy he found that the shriek was the tri 
umphant whoop of the crew, who had landed safely in 
a small bay below. For nearly one hundred miles of 
the distance they were impeded by these frightful whirl 
pools, and strong and heavy rapids. 

On opening one of their bags of pemmican, the in 
genui'ty of the Indians at pilfering was discovered, sue 
cessive layers of mixed sand, stones, and green raea 



182 PEOGRElSS QP AKCTIO UlSCOVERT. 

having been artfully and cleverly substituted for the 
^jlry meat. Fearful that they might be carrying heaps 
of stone instead of provision, Back had to examine 
carefully the remainder, which were all found sound 
and well-tasted. He began to fear, from the inclinatior 
of the river at one time toward the south, that it Would 
be found to discharge itself in Chesterfield Inlet, in 
Hudson's Bay, but subsequently, to his great joy, it 
took a direct course toward the north, and his hopes of 
reaching the Polar Sea were revived. The river now 
led into several large lakes, some studded with islands, 
which were named successively after Sir H. Pelly, and 
Mr. Garry, of the Hudson's Bay Company ; two others 
were named Lake Macdougall and Lake Franklin. 

On the 28th of July, they fell in with a tribe of about 
thirty-five very friendly Esquimaux, who aided them 
in transporting their boat over the last long and steep 
portage, to which his men were utterly unequal, and 
Back justly remarks, to their kind assistance he is 
mainly indebted for getting to the sea at all. 

It was late when they got awaj^, and while threading 
their course between some sand-banks with a strong 
cuiTent, they first caught sight of a majestic headland 
in the extreme distance to the north, which had a 
coast-like appearance. This important promontory, 
Back subsequently named after our gracious Queen, 
then Princess Victoria. 

"This, then," observes Back, " may be considered as 
the mouth of the Thlew-ee-choh, which after a violent 
and tortuous course of 530 geographical miles, running 
through an iron-ribbed country, without a single tree 
on the whole line of its banks, expanding into five 
large lakes, with clear horizon, most embarrassing to 
the navigator, and broken into falls, cascades, and rap- 
ids, to the number of eighty-three in the whole, pours 
its water into the Polar Sea, in lat. 67° 11' N., and long. 
94° 30' "W., that is to say, about thirty-seven miles 
more south than the Coppermine River, and nineteen 
miles more south than that of Back's Kiver, (of Frank 
lin,) at the lower extrem'ty of BatlmrRt's Inlet." 



CAFfAIN back's land JOURNEY. 183 

Fur several days Back was able to make but slow 
progress along the eastern shore, in consequence of the 
Bolid body of drift-ice. A barren, rocky elevation of 
800 feet high, was named Cape Beaufort, after the 
present hydrographer to the Admiralty. A bluff point 
on the eastern side of the estuary, which he considered 
to be the northern extreme, he named Cape Hay. 
Dean and Simpson, however, in 1839, traced the shore 
nmch beyond this. The difficulties met with here, be- 
gan to dispirit the men. For a week or ten days they 
had a continuation of wet, chilly, foggy weather, and 
ihe only vegetation, fern and moss, was so wet that it 
would not burn ; being thus without fuel, during this 
time they had but one hot meal. Almost without 
water, without any means of warmth, or any kind of 
warm or comforting food, sinking knee-deep, as they 
proceeded on land, in the soft slush and snow, no won- 
der that some of the best men, benumbed in their limbs 
and dispirited by the dreary and unpromising prospect 
before them, broke out for a moment, in low murmur- 
ings, that theirs was a hard and painful duty. 

Captain Back found it utterly impossible to proceed, 
as he had intended, to the Point Turnagain of Franklin, 
and after vainly essaying a land expedition by three of 
the best walkers, and these having returned, after mak- 
ing but fifteen miles' way, in consequence of the heavy 
rains and the swampy nature of the ground, he camr 
to the resolution of returning. Keflecting, he says, on 
the long and dangerous stream they had to ascend 
combining all the bad features of the worst rivers in 
the country, the hazard of the falls and the rapids, anvl 
the slender hope which remained of their attaining 
even a single mile farther, he felt he had no choice. 
Assembling, therefore, the men around him, and ur 
furling the British flag, which was saluted with three 
cheers, he announced to them this determination. The 
latitude of this place was 68° 13' 57" llT., and longitude 
94° 58' V W. The extreme point seen to the north- 
ward on the western side of the estuary, in latitude 68° 
46' 'N., longitude 96 20' W., Back named Cape Rich- 



184 PROGRESS OF AECTIC DISCOVERY. 

iU'dsori. The spirits of many of the men, whose health 
liad suffered greatly for want of warm and nourishing 
food, now brightened, and they set to work with alac- 
rity to prepare for their return journey. The boat be- 
ing dragged across, was brought to the place of their 
former station, after which the crew went back four 
miles for their baggage. The whole was safely con- 
veyed over before the evening, when the water-casks 
were broken up to make a fire to warm a kettle of 
cocoa, the second hot meal they had had for nine days. 

On the 15th of August, they managed to make their 
way about twenty miles, on their return to the south- 
ward, through a breach in the ice, till they came to 
open water. The difiiculties of the river were doubled 
in the ascent, from having to proceed against the stream. 
All the obstacles of rocks, rapids, sand-banks, and long 
portages had to be faced. In some days as many as 
sixteen or twenty rapids were ascended. They found, 
as they proceeded, that many of the deposits of pro- 
visions, on which they relied, had been discovered and 
destroyed by wolves. On the 16th of September, they 
met Mr. McLeod and his party, who had been several 
days at Sand Hill Bay, waiting for them. On the 24th, 
they reached the Ah-hel-dessy, where they met with 
some Indians. T)iey were ultimately stopped by one 
most formidable perpendicular fall, and as it was found 
impossible to convey the boat further over so rugged 
and mountainous a country, most of the declivities of 
which were coated with thin ice, and the whole hidden 
by snow, it was here abandoned, and the party pro- 
ceeded the rest of the journey on foot, each laden with 
a pack of about 75 lbs. weight. 

Late on the 27th of September, they arrived at their 
old habitation. Fort Reliance, after being absent nearly 
four months, wearied indeed, but " trmy grateful for 
the manifold mercies they had experienced in the 
course of their long and perilous journey." Arrange- 
ments were now made to pass the winter as comforta- 
bly as theii means would permit, and as there was no 
probability that there would le sufficient food in the 



CArTAlK Sack's land Jo(jiiJsrp:Y. 185 

house for the consumption of the whole party, all ex- 
cept six were sent with Mr. McLeod to the fisheries. 
The Indians brought them provisions from time to time, 
and their friend Akaitcho, with his followers, though 
not very successful in hunting, was not wanting in 
his contributions. This old chieftain was, however, 
no longer the same active and important personage he 
had been' in the days when he rendered such good 
service to Sir John Franklin. Old age and infirmities 
were creeping on him and rendering him peevish and 
fickle. 

On the 2l8t of March following, having left direc- 
tions with Dr. King to proceed, at the proper season, 
to the Company's factory at Hudson's Bay, to embark 
for England in their spring ships, Captain Eack set 
out on his return through Canada, calling at the Fishe- 
ries to bid farewell to his esteemed friend, Mr. McLeod, 
and arriving at the Norway House on the 24th, where 
he settled and arranged the accounts due for stores, 
tfec, to the Hudson's Bay Company. He proceeded 
thence to New York, embarked for England, and ar- 
rived at Liverpool on the 8th of September, after an 
absence of two years and a half Back was honored 
with an audience of his Majesty, who expressed his ap- 
probation of his efforts — first in the cause of human- 
ity, and next in that of geographical and scientific re- 
search. He has since been knighted ; and in 1835, the 
Royal Geographical Society awarded him their gold 
medal, (the Royal premium,) for his discovery of the 
Great Fish River, and navigating it to the sea on the 
arctic coast. 

Dr. King, with the remainder of the party, (eight 
men,) reached England, in the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany's ship, in the following month, October. 

Of Captain Back's travels it has been justly observed 
that it is impossible to rise from the perusal of them 
without being struck with astonishment at the extent of 
sufferings which the human frame can endure, and at the 
samc^ time the wondrous display of fortitude which was 
jxnibited under circumstances of so appalling a nature. 



186 PROGRESS OF AilOTIC DiSCO\^BY. 

as to invest the narrative with the character of a roman- 
tic fiction, rather than an unexaggerated tale of actual 
reality. He, however, suffered not despair nor despon- 
dency to overcome him, but gallantly and undauntedly 
pursued his course, until he returned to his native land 
to add to the number of those noble spirits whose names 
will be carried to posterity as the brightest ornaments 
to the country which gave them birth. 

Captain Back's Yoyage of the Tebeoe. 

In the year 1836, Captain Back, who had only re- 
turned the previous autumn, at the recommendation of 
the Geographical Society, undertook a voyage in the 
Terror up Hudson's Strait. 

He was to reach "Wager Biver, or Repulse Bay, and 
to make an overland journey, to examine the bottom 
of Prince Regent's Inlet, sending other parties to the 
north and west to examine the Strait of the Fury and 
Hecla, and to reach, if possible, Franklin's Point Turn- 
again. 

Leaving England on the 14th of June, he an-ived on 
the 14:th of August at Salisbury Island, and proceeded 
up the Frozen Strait ; off Cape Comfort the ship got 
frozen in, and on the breaking up of the ice by one of 
those frequent convulsions, the vessel was drifted right 
up the Frozen Channel, grinding large heaps that op- 
posed her progress to powder. 

Fi'om December to March she was driven about by 
the fury of the storms and ice, all attempts to release 
her being utterly powerless. She thus noated till the 
10th of July, and for three days was on her beam-ends ; 
but on the 14th she suddenly righted. The crazy vessel 
with her gaping wounds was scarcely able to transport 
the crew across the stormy waters of the Atlantic, but 
the return voyage which was rendered absolutely neces- 
sary, was fortunately accomplished safely. 

I shall now give a concise summary of Captain Sir 
George Back's arctic services, so as to present it more 
readily to the reader: 



DEASK AND SIMPSONS DISCOVEKIES. 187 

In 1818 he was Admiralty Mate on board the Trent. 
inder Franklin. In 1819 he again accompanied liim 
on his first overland journey, and was with him in all 
those perilous sufferings which are elsewhere narrated. 
He was also as a Lieutenant with Franklin on his sec- 
ond journey in 1825. Having been in the interval pro- 
moted to the rank of Commander, he proceeded, in 1833, 
accompanied by Dr. King and a party, through North- 
ern America to the Polar Sea, in search of Captain 
John Ross. He was posted on the 30th of September, 
1835, and appointed in the following year to the com- 
mand of the Terror, for a voyage of discovery in Hud- 
son's Bay. 

.Messrs. Deasb ajstd Simpson's Discoveries. 

In 1836 the Hudson's Bay Company resolved upon 
undertaking the completion of the survey of the north 
ern coast of their territories, forming the shores of 
Arctic America, and small portions of which were left 
undetermined between the discoveries of Captains Back 
and Franklin. 

They commissioned to this task two of their officers, 
Mr. Thomas Simpson and Mr. Peter Warren Dease, who 
were sent out with a party of twelve men from the com 
pany's chief fort, with proper aid and appliances. De- 
scending the Mackenzie to the sea, they reached and 
surveyed in July, 1837, the remainder of the western 
part of the coast left unexamined by Franklin in 1825, 
from his Return Reef to Cape Barrow, where the Bios 
som's boats turned back. 

Proceeding on from Return Reef two new rivers 
were dtscovered, — the Garry and the Colville ; the 
latter more than a thousand miles in length. Although 
it was the height of summer, the ground was found 
frozen several inches below the surface, the spray froze 
on the oars and rigging of their boats, and the ice lay 
smooth and solid in the bays, as in the depth of winter, 

On the 4th of August, having left the boats and pro 
needed on by land, Mr. Simpson arrived at Elson Bay 
l^ H* ' 



188 PKOGEESS OF LRGTI COVEliY. 

which point Lieutenant Elson had reached in the Blos- 
som's barge in 1826. 

The party now returned to winter at Fort Confidence, 
on Great Bear Lake, whence they were instructed to 
pi'osecute their search to the eastward next season, and 
to communicate if possible with Sir George Back's 
expedition. 

They left their winter quarters on the 6th of June, 
1838, and descended Dease's Eiver. They found the 
Coppermine Kiver much swollen by floods, and encum- 
bered with masses of floating ice. The rapids they had 
to pass were very perilous, as may be inferred from the 
following graphic description; — 

" We had to pull for our lives to keep out of the suc- 
tion of the precipices, along whose base the breakers 
raged and foamed with overwhelming fury. Shortly 
before noon, we came in sight of Escape Eapid ot* 
Franklin ; and a glance at the overhanging cliff told us 
that there was no alternative but to run down with a 
full cargo. In an instant," continues Mr. Simpson, " we 
were in the vortex ; and before we were aware, my boat 
was borne toward an isolated rock, which, the boiling 
surge almost concealed. To clear it on the outside was 
no longer possible ; our only chance of safety was to 
run between it and the lofty eastern cliff. The w^ord 
was passed, and every breath was hushed. A stream 
which dashed down upon us over the brow of the preci 
pice more than a hundred feet in height, mingled with 
the spray that whirled upward from the rapid, forming 
a terrific shower-bath. The pass was about eight feet 
wide, and the error of a single foot on either side would 
have been instant destruction. As, guided by Sinclair's 
consummate ' skill, the boat shot safely through those 
jaws of death, an involuntary cheer arose. Our next 
impulse was to turn round to view the fate of our com- 
rades behind. They had profited by the peril we in- 
curred, and kept without the treacherous rock in time.'' 

On the 1st of July they reached the sea, and en- 
camped at tl e mouth of tlie river, where they waited 
for the openin g of tlie ice till the ITth. They doubled 



DEASE AND SIMPSON's DISCOVERIES. 189 

Caj ~t Barrow, one of the northern points of Bathurst's 
liAet, on the 29th, but were prevented crossing the inlet 
by the continuity of the ice, and obliged to make a 
ciro-uit of nearly 160 miles by Arctic Sound. 

Some very pure specimens of copper ore were found 
on one of the Barry Islands. After doubling Cape 
blinders on the 9th of August, the boats were arrested 
by the ice in a little bay to which the name of Boat 
Haven was given, situate about three miles from Frank- 
liu'S farthest. Here the boats lingered for the best 
part of a month, in utter hopelessness. Mr. Simpson 
pushed on therefore on the 20th, with an exploring party 
of seven men, provisioned for ten days. On the first 
day they passed Point Turnagain, the limit of Frank- 
lin's survey in 1821. On the 23d they had reached an 
'elevated cape, with land apparently closing all round 
'o the northward, so that it was feared they had only 
•^x^en traversing the coast of a huge bay. But the 
perseverance of the adventurous explorer was fiilly re- 
ivarded. 

"With bitter disappointment," writes Mr. Simpson, 
'' I ascended the height, from whence a vast and splen- 
did prospect burst suddenly upon me. The sea, as if 
transformed by enchantment, rolled its fierce waves at 
ray feet, and beyond the reach of vision to the eastward, 
Islands of various shape and size overspread its surface ; 
and the northern land terminated to the eye in a bold 
and lofty cape, bearing east northeast, thirty or forty- 
miles distant, while the continental coast trended away 
southeast. I stood, in fact, on a remarkable headland, 
at the eastern outlet of an ice-obstructed strait. On the 
extensive land to the northward I bestowed the name 
of our most gracious sovereign Queen Victoria. Its 
eastern visible extremity I called Cape Pelly, in com- 
pliment to the governor of Hudson's Bay Company." 

Having reached the limits which prudence, dictated 
in the face of the long journey back to the boats, many 
of his men too being lame, Mr. Simpson retraced his 
steps, and the party reached Boat-haven on the 20th of 
August, having traced nearly 140 miles of new coast 



IGO PKOGEESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

The boats were cut out of their icy prison, and com 
iuenoed their re-ascent of the Copi)ermine on the 3d oi 
September. At its junction with the Kendal Eiver they 
left their boats, and shouldering their packs, traversed 
the barren grounds, and arrived at their residence on 
the lake by the 14th of September. 

The following season these persevering explorers com- 
menced their third voyage. They reached the Bloody 
Fall on the 22d of June, 1839, and occupied themselves 
tur a week in carefully examining Richardson's River, 
which was discovered in the previous year, and dis- 
charges itself in the head of iJack's Inlet. On the 3d 
of Julj they reached Cape Barrow, and from its rocky 
lieights were surprised to observe Coronation Gulf 
almost clear of ice, while on their former visit it could 
have been crossed on<foot. 

They were at Cape Franklin a month earlier tlian 
Mr. Simpson reached it on foot the previous year, and 
doubled Caj)e Alexander, the northernmost cape in this 
quarter, on the 28th of July, after encountering a vio- 
lent gale. They coasted the huge bay extending for 
about nine degrees eastw^ard from this point, being fa- 
vored with clear weather, and protected by the various 
islands they met from the crushing state of the ioo 
drifted from seaward. 

On the 10th of August they opened a strait about 
ten miles wdde at each extremity, out narrowing to four 
or five miles in the center. This strait, which divides 
the main-land from Boothia, has been called Simpson's 
Strait. 

On the 13th of August they had passed Richardson's 
Point and doubled Point Ogle, the furthest point of 
Back's journey in 1834. 

By the 16th they had reached Montreal Island iu 
Back's Estuary, where they found a deposit of pro- 
visions whicli Captain Back had left there that day fivo 
years. The pemmican was unlit for use, but out of 
several pounds of chocolate lialf decayed the men con- 
trived to pick sufficient to make a kettleful acceptable 
rlrink in honor of the occasion. There were also a tip 



DEASE AND SIMPSON's DISCOVERIES. 191 

case &nd a few fish-liooks, of which, observes Mr. 
Simpson, " Mr. Dease and I took possession, as memo- 
rials of our having breakfasted on the very spot where 
the tent of our gallant, though less successful precursor 
stood that very day five years before. 

By the 20th of August they had reached as far as 
A-berdeen Island to the eastward, from which they had 
a view of an apparently large gulf, corresponding with 
that which had been so correctly described to Parry by 
the intelligent Esquimaux female as Akkolee. 

From a mountainous ridge about three miles inland 
a view of laiid in the northeast was obtained supposed 
to be one of the southern promontories of Boothia. 
High and distant islands stretching from E. to E. JS^. E. 
(probably some in Committee Bay) were seen, and two 
considerable ones were noted far out in the offing. 
Remembering the length and difficulty of their return 
route, the explorers now retraced their steps. On their 
return voyage they traced sixty miles of the south coast 
of Boothia, where at one time they were not more than 
ninety miles from the site of the magnetic pole, as de- 
termined by Captain Sir James C. Koss. On the 25th 
of August they erected a high cairn at their farthest 
point, near Cape Herschel. 

About 150 miles of the high, bold shores of Yictoria 
Land, as far as Cape Parry, were also examined; 
Wellington, Cambridge, and Byron Bays being sur- 
veyed and accurately laid down. They then stretched 
across Coronation Gulf, and re-entered the Copper- 
mine River on the 16th of September. 

Abandoning here one of their boats, with the re- 
mains of their useless stores and other articles not 
required, they ascended the river and reached Fort 
Confidence on the 24th of September, after one of the 
longest and most successful boat voyages ever per- 
foniied on the Polar Sea, having traversed more than 
1600 miles of sea. 

In 1838, before the intelligence of this last trip 
had been received, Mr Simpson was presented by 
the Royal Geographi ^a Society of London with the 



192 mOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Founder's Gold Medal, for discovering and tracing in 
1837 and 1838 about 300 miles of the arctic shores ; 
but the voyage which I have just recorded has added 
greatly to the laurels which he and his bold compan- 
ions have achieved. 

Dr. John Kae's Land Expedition, 1846-47. 

Although a little out of its chronological order, I 
give Dr. Rae's exploring trip before I proceed to no- 
tice Franklin's last voyage, and the different relief 
expeditions that have been sent out during the past 
two years. 

In 1846 the Hudson's Company dispatched an ex- 
pedition of thirteen persons, under the command of 
Dr. John E-ae, for the purpose of surveying the unex- 
plored portion of the arctic coast at the northeastei'n 
angle of the American continent between Dease and 
Simpson's farthest, and the Strait of the Fury and 
Hecla. 

The expedition left Fort Churchill, in Hudson's 
Bay, on the 5th of July, 1846, and returned in safety 
to York Factory on the 6th September in the follow- 
ing year, after having, by traveling over ice and snow 
in the spring, traced the coast all the way from the 
Lord Mayor's Bay of Sir John Ross to within eight 
or ten miles of the Fury and Hecla Strait, thus prov- 
ing that eminent navigator to have been correct in 
stating Boothia to be a peninsula. 

On the 15th of July the boats first fell in with the 
ice, about ten miles north of Cape Fullerton, and it 
was so heavy and closely packed that they were 
obliged to take shelter in a deep and narrow inlet 
that opportunely presented itself, where they were 
closed up two days. 

On the 22d the party reached the most southerly 
opening of Wager River or Bay, but were detained 
the whole day by the immense quantities of heavy ice 
driving in and out with the flood and ebb of the tide, 
which ran at the rate of eight miles an hour, forcing up 



DK. JOHN KAe's land EXPEDITION. 198 

MQ ice and grinding it against the rocks with a noise 
like thunder. On the night of the 24th the boats 
anchored at the head of the Repulse Baj. The follow- 
ing day they anchored in Gibson's Cove, on the banks 
of which they met with a small party of Esquimaux ; 
several of the women wore beads round their wrists, 
which they had obtained from Captain Parry's ship 
when at Igloolik and Winter Island. But they had 
neither heard nor seen anything of Sir John Franklin. 

Learning from a chart drawn by one of the i^atives, 
that the isthmus of Melville peninsula was only about 
forty miles across, and that of this, owing to a number 
of large lakes, but five miles of land would have to be 
passed over. Dr. Rae determined to make his way 
over this neck in preference to proceeding by Fox's 
Channel through the Fujy and Hecla Strait. 

One boat was therefore laid up with her cargo in 
security, and with the other the party set out, assisted 
by three Esquimaux. After traversing several large 
lakes, and crossing over six " portages," on the 2d of 
August they got into the salt water, in Committee 
Bay, but being able to make but little progress to the 
northwest, in consequence of heavy gales and closely 
packed ice, he returned to his starting point, and made 
preparations for wintering, it being found impossible 
to proceed with the survey at that time. The other 
boat was brought across the isthmus, and all hands 
were set to work in making preparations for a long 
and cold 7, inter. 

As no wood was to be had, stones were collected to 
build a house, which was finished by the 2d of Sep- 
tember. Its dimensions were twenty feet by fourteen, 
and about eight feet high. The roof was formed of 
oil-cloths and morse-skin coverings, the masts and 
oars of the boats serving as rafters, while the door 
was made of parchment skins stretched over a wooden 
frame. 

The deer had already commenced migrating south- 
ward, but whenever he had leisure, Dr. Rae shoul- 
dered his rifle, and had frequently good success, shoot- 



194 PROGKESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

ing on one day seven deer within two miles of then 
encampment. 

On the 16th of October, the thermometer fell to 
zero, and the greater part of the reindeer had passed ; 
but the party had by this time shot 130, and during 
the remainder of October, and in November, thirty- 
two more were killed, so that with 200 partridges and 
a few salmon, their snow-built larder was pretty well 
stocked. 

Sufficient fuel had been collected to last, with econ- 
omy, for cooking, until the spring ; and a couple of 
seals which had been shot produced oil enough for 
their lamps. By nets set in the lakes under the ice, a 
few salmon were also caught. 

After passing a very stormy winter, with the tem- 
perature occasionally 47° below freezing point, and 
often an allowance of but one meal a day, toward the 
end of February preparations for resuming their sur- 
veys in the spring were made. Sleds, similar to those 
used by the natives, were constructed. In the begin- 
ning of March the reindeer began to migrate north 
ward, but were very shy. One was shot on the 11th. 
Dr. Rae set out on the 6th of April, in company 
with three men and two Esquimaux as interpreters, 
their provisions and bedding being drawn on sleds by 
four dogs. Nothing worthy of notice occurs in this 
exploratory trip, till on the 18th Rae came in sight of 
Lord Mayor's Bay, and the group of islands with which 
it is studded. The isthmus which connects the land 
to the northward with Boothia, he found to be only about 
a mile broad. On their return the party fortunately fell 
in with four Esquimaux, from whom they obtained a 
quantity of seal's blubber for fuel and dog's food, and 
some of the flesh and blood for their own use, enough 
to maintain them for six days on lialf allowance. 

All the party were more or less affected with snow 
blindness, but arrived at their winter quarters in Re- 
pulse Bay on the 5th of May, all safe and well, but as 
black as negroes, from the combined effects of frost- 
bites and oil smoke. 



DE. JOHN EAe's LAKD EXPEDITION. 195 

On the evening of the 13th May, Dr. Eae again 
started with a chosen party of four men, to trace the 
west shore of Melville peninsula. Each of the men 
carried about 70 lbs. weight. 

Being unable to obtain a drop of water of nature '8 
thawing, and fuel being rather a scarce article, they 
were obliged to take small kettles of snow under the 
blankets with them, to thaw by the heat of the body. 

Having reached to about 69° 42' ]^. lat., and 85° 8' 
long., and their provisions being nearly exhausted, 
they were obliged, much to their disappointment, to 
turn back, when only within a few miles of the Hecla 
and Fury Strait. Early on the morning of the 30th 
of May, the party arrived at their snow hut on Cape 
Thomas Simpson. The men they had left there were 
well, but very thin, as they had neither caught nor 
shot any thing eatable, except two marmots, and they 
were preparing to cook a piece of parchment skin for 
their supper. 

" Our journey," says Dr. Rae, " hitherto had been 
the most fatiguing I had ever experienced ; the severe 
exercise, with a limited allowance of food, had reduced 
the whole party very much. However, we marched 
merrily on, tightening our belts — mine came in six 
inches — the men vowing that when they got on full 
allowance, they would make up for lost time." 

On the morning of the 9th of June, they arrived at 
their encampment in Repulse Bay, after being absent 
twenty-seven days. The whole party then set actively 
to work procuring food, collecting fuel, and preparing 
the boats for sea ; and the ice in the bay having broken 
up on the 11th of August, on the 12th they left their 
winter quarters, and after encountering head winds 
and stormy weather, reached Churchill River on the 
Slst of August. 

A gratuity of 400Z. was awarded o Mr. Rae, by the 
Hudson's Bay Company, for the v^portant services he 
bad thus rendered to ^he cause x science. 



196 peogeess of aectic discoveey. 

Captain Sie John Feanklin's Last Expedition, 

1845-51. 

That Sir John Franklin, now nearly six years ab- 
sent, is alive, we dare not affirm ; but that his ships 
should be so utterly annihilated that no trace of them 
can be discovered, or if they have been so entirely 
lost, that not a single life should have been saved to 
relate the disaster, and that no traces of the crew or 
vessels should have been met with by the Esquimaux, 
or the exploring parties who have visited and investi- 
gated those coasts, and bays, and inlets to so consid- 
erable an extent, is a most extraordinary circumstance. 
It is the general belief of those officers who have 
served in the former arctic expeditions, that whatever 
accident may have befallen the Erebus and Terror, 
they cannot wholly have disappeared from those seas, 
and that some traces of their fate, if not some living 
remnant of their crews, must eventually reward the 
search of the diligent investigator. It is possible that 
they may be found in quarters the least expected. 
There is still reason, then, for Jiojpe^ and for the great 
and honorable exertions which that divine spark in 
the soul has prompted and still keeps alive. 

"There is something," says the Athenaeum, "in- 
';ensely interesting in the ]}icture of those dreary seas 
amid whose strange and unspeakable solitudes our lost 
countrymen are, or have been, somewhere imprisoned 
for so many years, swarming with the human life that 
is risked to set them fi-ee. No haunt was ever so ex- 
citing — so full of a wild grandeur and a profound 
pathos — as that which had just aroused the arctic 
echoes ; that wherein their brothers and companions 
have been beating for the track by which they may 
rescue the lost mariners from the icy grasp of the Ge 
nius of the North. Fancy these men in their adaman 
tine prison, wherever it may be, — chained up by the 
polar spirit whom they had dared, — lingering through 
years of cold and darkness on the stinted ration that 
scarcely feeds the blood, and the feeble hope that 



FliANKLTxNf's LAST EXPEDITION. 19^ 

scarcely sustains the heart, — and then imagine the rush 
of emotions to greet the first cry fr^iL that wild hunting 
ground which should reach thjli ears ! Through many 
summers has that cry oeen listened for, no doubt. 
Something like an expectation of the rescue which it 
should announce has revived with each returning sea- 
son of comparative light, to die of its own baffled in- 
tensity as the long dark months once more settled down 
upon their dreary prison-house. — There is scarcely a 
doubt that the track being now struck, these long- 
pining hearts may be traced to their lair. But what to 
the anxious questioning which has year by year gone 
forth in search of their fate, will be the answer now 
revealed ? The trail is found, — but what of the weary 
feet that made it ? We are not willing needlessly to 
alarm the public sympathies, which have been so gene- 
rously stirred on behalf of the missing men, — but we 
are bound to warn our readers against too sanguine an 
entertainment of the hope which the first tidings of the 
recent discovery is calculated to suggest. It is scarcely 
possible that the provisions which are sufficient for three 
years, and adaptable for four, can by any economy 
which implies less than starvation have been spread 
over five, — and scarcely probable that they can have 
been made to do so by the help of any accidents which 
the place of confinement supplied. We cannot hear of 
this sudden discovery of traces of the vanished crews as 
living men, without a wish which comes like a pan^ 
that it had been two years ago — or even ' ast year. It 
makes the heart sore to think how close re lef may have 
been to their hiding-place in former yef^rs — when it 
turned away. There is scarcely reason to doubt that 
had the present circumstances of the search occurred 
two years ago — last year perhaps — the wanderers 
would have been restored. Another year makes a 
frightful difference in the odds : — and we do not think 
the public will ever feel satisfied with what has been 
done in this matter if the oracle so long questioned, and 
silent so long, shall speak at last — and the answer shall 
be. ' It is too late - " 



198 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

In the prosecution of the noble enterprise on whicli 
all eyes are now turned, it is not merely, scientific re- 
search and geographical discovery that are at present 
occuj)ying the attention of the commanders of vessels 
sent out ; the lives of human beings are at stake, and 
above all, the lives of men who have nobly periled 
every thing in the cause of national — nay, of universal 
progress and knowledge ; — of men who have evinced 
on this and othfer expeditions the most dauntless bra- 
very that any men can evince. 'Who can think of the 
probable fate of these gallant adventurers without a 
shudder ? 

Alas ! how truthfully has Montgomery depicted the 
fetal imprisonment of vessels in these regions : — 

There lies a vessel in that realm of frost, 
Not wrecked, not stranded, yet forever lost ; 
Its keel embedded in the solid mass ; 
Its glistening sails appear expanded glass ; 
The transverse ropes with pearls enormous Strang 
The yards with icicles grotesquely hung. 
Wrapt in the topmast shrouds there rests a boy. 
His old sea-faring father's only joy ; 
Sprung from a race of rovers, ocean born, 
Nureed at the helm, he trod dry land with scorn , 
Through fourscore years from port to port he ve€r*d ; 
Quicksand,, nor rock, nor foe, nor tempest fear*d ; 
Now cast ashore, though like a hulk he lie. 
His son at sea is ever in his eye. 
He ne'er shall know in his Northumbrian cot, 
How brief that son's careei', how strange his lot ; 
Writhed round the mast, aud sepulchred in air. 
Him shall no worm devour, no vulture teai* ; 
Congeal'd to adamant his frame shall last. 
Though empires change, till tide and time be past 
Mom shall return, and noon, and eve, and night 
Meet here with interchanging shade and light ; 
But from that barque no timber shall decay, 
Of these cold forms no feature pass away ; 
Perennial ice around th' encrusted bow, 
The peopled-deck, and full-rigg'd mast shall grow 
Till from the Bun himself the whole be hid, 
Or spied beneiith a crystal pyramid : 
As in pure amber witii divergent hues, 
A rugged sliell embossed with sea-weed, shines, 
From age to age increased with annual snow. 
This ifew Mont Blanc among the clouds may glow 
Whose conic ]ieak tliat earliest greets the dawn. 
And latest from the sun's shut eye withdrawn. 



1 



J'rankltn's last EXPEDiTioir. 199 

Shall from the Zenith, through incumbent gloom, 
Burn like a lamp upon this naval tomb. 
But when th' archangel's trumpet sounds on high. 
The pile shall burst to atoms through the sky, 
And leave its dead, upstarting at the call, 
l^a^ed and pale^ before the Judge of aU. 

All who read these pages will, I am sure, feel the 
deepest sympathy and admiration of the zeal, persever- 
ance, and conjugal affection displayed in the noble and 
untiring efforts of Lady Franklin to relieve or to dis- 
cover the fate of her distinguished husband and the gal- 
lant party under his command, despite the difficulties, 
disappointments, and heart-sickening " hope deferred " 
with which these efforts have been attended. All men 
must feel a lively interest in the fate cf these bold men, 
and be most desirous to contribute toward their resto- 
ration to their country and their homes. The name of 
the present Lady Franklin is as "familiar as a house- 
hold word " in every bosom in England ; she is alike 
the object of our admiration, our sympathy, our hopes, 
and our prayers. ^N^ay, her name and that of her hus- 
band is breathed in prayer in many lands — and, oh! 
how earnest, how zealous, how courageous, have been 
her efforts to find and relieve her husband, for, like 
Desdemona, , 

" She loved him for the dangers he had passed. 
And he loved her that she did pity them." 

How has she traversed from port to port, bidding " God 
speed their mission " to each public and private ship 
going forth on the noble errand of mercy — how freely 
and promptly has she contributed to their comforts. 
How has she watched each arrival from the north, 
scanned each stray paragraph of news, hurried to the 
Admiralty on each rumor, and kept up with unremit- 
ting labor a voluminous correspondence with all the 
quarters of the globe, fondly wishing that she had the 
wings of the dove, that she might flee away, and be 
with him from whom Heaven has seen fit to separate 
her so long. 

An American poet well depicts her sentiments in the 
following lines : — 



200 PllOORESS OB' ARCTIC DISCO\^lti^. 

LADY FRANKLIN'S APPEAL TO THE NORTH 

Oh, where, my long lost-one 1 ait thou, 

'Mid Arctic seas and wintry skies ? 
Deep, Polar night is on me now. 

And Hope, long wrecked, but mocks ttit cr**! 
I am like thee ! from frozen plains 

In the drear zone and sunless air, 
My dying, lonely heait complains, 

And chills in soriow and despair. 

Tell me, ye Northern winds ! that sweep 

Down from the rayle&s, dusky day — 
Where ye have borne, and where ye keep, 

My well-beloved within your sway ; 
Tell me, when next ye wildly bear 

The icy message in your breath, 
Of my beloved ! Oh teU me where 

Ye keep him on the shores of death. 

Tell me, ye Polar seas 1 that roll 

From ice-bound shore to sunny isle — 
Tell me, when next ye leave the Pole, 

Where ye have chained ray lord the while \ 
On the bleak Northern cliff I wait 

Witli tear-pained eyes to see ye come I 
Will ye not tell me, ere too late ? 

Or will ye mock while I am dumb ? 

Tell me, oh tell me, mountain waves J 

Whence have ye leaped and sprung to-day f 
Have ye passed o'er their sleeping graves 

That ye rush wildly on your -v^y ? 
Will ye sweep on and bear me too 

Down to the caves within the deep ? 
Oh, bring some token to my view 

That ye my loved one safe will keep f 

Canst thou not toll me, Polar Star I 

Where in the frozen waste he kneek T 
And on the icy plains afar 

His love to God and me reveals ? 
Wilt thou not send one brighter ray 

To my lone heart and aching eye? 
Wilt thou not turn my night to day. 

And wake ray spirit ere I die ? 

Tell me, oh dreary North ! for now 

My soul is like thine Arctic zone; 
Beneath tlie darkened skies I bow; 

Or ride tlie stormy sea alone I 
Tell mo of my beloved ! for I 

Know not a ray my lord without I 
Oh, tell ni(>, that T may not die 

A Ror'owei- on the sea of doubt! 



PkAi^ltLIN'S LAST EXPEDITIOlJ. ^01 

In the early part of 1849, Sir E. Pariy stated, thai 
in offering his opinions, he did so under a deep sense 
of the anxious and even painful responsibilitj, both as 
regarded the risk of life, as well as the inferior consid- 
eration of expense involved in further attempts to res 
cue our gallant countrymen, or at least the surviving 
portion of them, from their perilous position. 

But it was his deliberate conviction, that the time 
had not yet arrived when the attempt ought to be given 
up as hopeless : the further efforts making might also 
be the means of determining their fate, and whether it 
pleased God to give success to those efforts or not, the 
Lords of the Admiralty, and the country at large, would 
hereafter be better satisfied to have followed up the 
noble attempts already made, so long as the most dis- 
tant hope remains of ultimate success. 

In the absence of authentic information of the fate 
of the gallant band of adventurers, it has been well 
observed, the terra incognita of the northern coast of 
Arctic America, will not only be traced, but minutely 
surveyed, and the solution of the problem of centuries 
will engage the marked attention of the House of Com- 
mons, and the legislative assemblies of other parts of 
the world. The problem is very safe in their hands, so 
safe indeed that two years will not elapse before it is 
solved. 

The intense anxiety and apprehension now so gener- 
ally entertained for the safety of Sir John Franklin, 
and the crews of the Erebus and Terror, under his com- 
mand, who, if still in existence, are now passing tlirough 
the severe ordeal of a fifth winter, in those inclement 
regions, imperatively call for every available effort to 
be made for their rescue from a position so perilous ; 
and as long as one possible avenue to that position re- 
mains unsearched, the country will not feel satisfied 
that every thing has been done, which perseverance 
and experience can accomplish, to dispel the mystery 
which at present surrounds their fate. 

Capt. Sir James Ross having returned successful from 
^ifi antarctic ex]")editIon in the close of the preceding 



202 t>llOGItES!5 OF AROTIO blSCOVER-?. 

year, in the spring of 1845, the Lords Commissioner? 
of the Admiralty, upon the recommendation of Sir 
John Barrow, determined on sending out another ex- 
pedition to the IvTorth Pole. 

Accordingly the command was given to Sir John 
Fr'i'iaklin, who re-commissioned the Erebus and Terror 
the two vessels which had just returned from the South 
Polar Seas. The expedition sailed from Sheerness on 
the 20th of May, 1845. The following are the officers 
belonging to these vessels, and for whose safety so deep 
an interest is now felt : — 

Erebus. 

Captain — Sir John Franklin, K. C. H. 
Commander — James Fitzjames, (Capt.) 
Lieutenants — Graham Gore, (Commander,) Henry 

T. D. Le Yesconte, James William Fairholme. 
Mates — Chas. F. des Yaux, (Lieut.,) Eobert O'Sar- 

gent, (Lieut.) 
Second Master — Henry F. Collins. 
Surgeon — Stephen S. Stanley. 
Assistant-Surgeon — Harry L). S. Goodsir, (acting.) 
Paymaster and Purser — Chas. H. Osmer. 
Ice-master — James Peid, acting. 
68 Petty Officers, Seamen, &c. 

Full Complement, 70. 

Terror, 

Captain — Fras '^. M. Crozier. 

Lieutenants — Edward Little, (Commander,) Geo. H. 

Hodgson, John Irving. 
Mates — Frederick J. Hornby, (Lieutenant,) Robert 

Thomas, (Lieut.) 
Ice-master — T. Blanky, (acting.) 
Second Master — G. A. Maclean. 
Surgeon — John S. Peddie. 
Assistant-Surgeon — Alexander McDonald. 
Clerk in Charge — Edwin J. H. Helpman. 
57 Petty Officers, Seamen, tfec. 

Full Complement, f)8. 



franklin's last expedition. 203 

Those officers whose rank is within parenthesis liave 
been promoted during their absence. 

The following is an outline of Capt. Franklin's ser- 
vices as recorded in O'Byrne's Naval Biography : — 

Sir John Franklin, Kt., K. K. G., K. C. H., D. C. L., 
F. R. S., was born in 1786, at Spilsbj, in Lincolnshire, 
and is brother of the late Sir W. Franklin, Kt., Chief 
Justice of Madras. He entered the navy in October, 
1800, as a boy on board the Polyphemus, 64, Captain 
John Lawford, under whom he served as midshipman 
in the action off Copenhagen, 2d of April, 1801. He 
then sailed with Captain Flinders, in H. M. sloop In- 
vestigator, on a voyage of discovery to J^ew Holland, 
joining there the armed store-ship Porpoise ; he was 
wrecked on a coral reef near Cato Bank on the 17th of 
August, 1803. I shall not follow him through all his 
subsequent period of active naval service, in which he 
displayed conspicuous zeal and activity. But we find 
him taking part at the battle of Trafalgar, on the 21st 
of October, 1805, on board the Bellerophon, where he 
was signal midshipman. He was confirmed as Lieu- 
tenant, on board the Bedford, 74, 11th of February, 
1808, and he then escorted the luyal family of Portugal, 
from Lisbon to South America. He was engaged in 
very arduous services during the expedition against 
New Orleans, in the close of 1814, and was slightly 
wounded in boat service, and for his brilliant services on 
this occasion, was warmly and officially recommended 
for promotion. On the 14th of January, 1818, he as- 
sumed command of the hired brig Trent, in which he 
accompanied Captain D. Buchan, of the Dorothea, on 
the perilous voyage of discovery to the neighborhood 
of Spitzbergen, which I have fully recorded elsewhere. 
In April, 1819, having paid off the Trent in the pre 
ceding November, he was invested with the conduct 
of an expedition destined to proceed overland from the 
shores of Hudson's Bay, for the purpose more particu- 
larly of ascertaining the actual position of the mouth 
of the Coppermine River, and the exact trending of the 
shores of the Polar Sea, to the eastward of that river 
13 I 



20d: PROGKESS Oi ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

The details of this fearful undertaking, which en- 
dured until the summer of 1822, and in the course of 
which, he reached as far as Point Turnagain, in latitude 
68° 19' N., and longitude 109° 25' W., and effected a 
journey altogether of 5550 miles. Captain Franklin 
has ably set forth in his "Narrative of a Journey to 
the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the year 1819-22," and 
which I have abridged in preceding pages. He was 
promoted to the rank of Commander, on the 1st of 
January, 1821, and reached his post rank on the 20th 
of November, 1822. On the 16th of February, 1825, 
this energetic ofticer again left England on another ex- 
pedition to the Frozen Eegions, having for its object a 
co-operation with Captains F. W. Beechey, and W. E. 
Parry, in ascertaining from opposite quarters the ex- 
istence of a northwest passage. The results of this 
mission will be found in detail in Captain Franklin's 
"Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the 
Polar Sea, in 1825-7." 

On his return to England, where he arrived on the 
26th of Sept., 1827, Franklin was presented by the 
Geographical Society of Paris, with a gold medal val- 
ued at 1200 francs, for having made the most important 
acquisitions to geographical knowledge during the pre- 
ceding year, and on the 29th of April, 1829, he received 
the honor of kniglithood, besides being awarded in July 
following the Oxford degree of a D. C. L. 

From 1830 to 1834, he was in active service in com- 
mand of II. M. S. Rainbow, on the Mediterranean sta- 
ti^^n, and for his exertions during that period as con- 
nected with the troubles in Greece, was presented with 
the order of the Redeemer of Greece. Sir John was 
created a K. C. II. on the 25th of January, 1836, and 
was for some time Governor of Yan Diemen's Land. 
He married, on the 16th of August, 1823, Eleanor 
Anne, youngest daughter of W. Porden, Esq., architect, 
of Berners Street, London, and seconaly, on the 5th of 
November, 1828, Jane, second daughter of John Grif 
fin, Esq., of Bedford Place. 

Captain Orozier was in all Parry s expeditions, hav 



FRANKLIN'S LAST EXPP:DITI0N. 205 

ing been midshipman in the Fury in 1821, iu the 
Hecla in 1824, went out as Lieutenant in the Heda, 
with Parry, on his boat expedition to the Pole in 1827, 
volunteered in 1836 to go out in search of the missing 
whalers and their crews to Davis' Straits, was made a 
Captain in 1841, and was second in command of the 
antarctic expedition under Sir James Poss, and on his 
return, appointed to the Terror, as second in command 
under Franklin. 

Lieutenant Gore served as a mate in the last fearful 
voyage of the Terror, under Back, and was also with 
Ross in the antarctic expedition. He has attained his 
commander's rank during his absence. 

Lieutenant Fairholme was in the Niger expedition. 

Lieutenant Little has also been promoted during his 
absence, and so have all the mates. 

Commander Fitzjames is a brave and gallant officer, 
who has seen much service in the East, and has attained 
to his post rank since his departure. 

The Terror, it may be remembered, is the vessel in 
which Captain Sir G. Back made his perilous attempt 
to reach Pepulse Bay, in 1836. 

The Erebus and Terror were not expected home un- 
less success had early rewarded their efforts, or some 
casualty hastened their return, before the close of 1847, 
aor were any tidings anticipated from them in the in- 
terval ; but when the autumn of 1847 arrived, without 
any intelligence of the ships, the attention of H. M. 
Government was directed to the necessity of searching 
for, and conveying relief to them, in case of their being 
imprisoned in the ice, or wrecked, and in want of pro- 
visions and means of transport. 

For this purpose a searching expedition in three 
divisions was fitted out by the government, in the early 
part of 1848. The investigation was directed to three 
different quarters simultaneously, viz : 1st, to that by 
which, in case of success, the ships would come out of 
the Polar Sea, to the westward, or Behring's Straits, 
This consisted of a single ship, the Plover, commanded 
by Captain Moore, which left England in the latter end 



206 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

• 

of January, for the purpose of entering Behring's Strait 
It was intended that she should arrive there in the 
month of July, and having looked out for a winter har- 
bor, she might send out her boats northward and east- 
ward, in which directions the discovery ships, if suc- 
cessful, would be met with. The Plover, however, in 
her first season, never even approached the place of her 
destination, owing to her setting ofi^ too late, and to her 
bad sailing properties. 

Her subsequent proceedings, and those of her boata 
along the coast, will be found narrated in after pages. 

The second division of the expedition was one of 
boats, to explore the coast of the Arctic Sea between 
the Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers, or from the 
135th to the 115th degree of W. longitude, together 
with the south coast of WoUaston Land, it being sup-- 
posed, that if Sir John Franklin's party had been com- 
pelled to leave the ships and take to the boats, they 
would make for this coast, whence they could reach the 
Hudson's Bay Company's posts. This party was placed 
under the command of the faithful friend of Franklin, 
and the companion of his former travels. Dr. Sir John 
Richardson, who landed at ISTew York in April, 1848, 
and hastened to join his men and boats, which were 
already in advance toward the arctic shore. He was, 
however, unsuccessful in his search. 

The remaining and most important portion of this 
searching expedition consisted of two ships under the 
command of Sir James Ross, which sailed in May, 1848, 
for the locality in which Franklin's ships entered on 
tills course of discovery, viz., the eastern side of Davis' 
Straits. These did not, however, succeed, owing to the 
state of the ice in getting into Lancaster Sound until 
the season for- operations had nearly closed. These ships 
wintered in the neighborhood of Leopold Island, Regent 
Inlet, and missing the store-ship sent out with pro- 
visions and fuel, to enable them to stop out another 
year, were driven out through the Strait by the pack 
of ice, and returned home unsuccessful. The subse- 
quent expeditions consequent upon the failure of the 



fuanklin's last expedition. 20i 

fcnegoing will be found fully detailed and narrated in 
their proper order. 

Among the number of volunteers for the service of 
exploration, in the different searching expeditions, were 
the following: — Mr. Chas. Keid, lately commanding 
the whaling ship Pacific, and brother to the ice-master 
on board the Erebus, a man of great experience and 
respectability. 

The Eev. Joseph Wolff, who went to Bokhara in 
search of Capt. Conolly and Col. Stoddart. 

Mr. John McLean, who had passed twenty-five years 
as an officer and partner of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
and w^ho has recently published an interesting narra- 
tive of his experience in the northwest regions. 

Dr. Richard King, who accompanied Capt. Back in 
his land journey to the mouth of the Great Fish River. 

Lieut. Sherard Osborn, R. N., who had recently gone 
out in the Pioneer, tender to the Resolute. 

Commander Forsyth, R. ]^., who volunteered for all 
the expeditions, and was at last sent out by Lady Frank- 
lin in the Prince Albert. 

Dr. McCormick, R. IST., who served under Captain Sir 
E. Parry, in the attempt to reach the North. Pole, in 1827, 
who twice previously volunteered his services in 1847. 

Capt. Sir John Ross, who has gone out in the Felix, 
fitted out by the Hudson's Bay Company, and by pri- 
vate subscriptions ; and many others. 

Up to the present time no intelligence of any kind 
lias been received respecting the expedition, and its 
fate is now exciting the most intense anxiety, not only 
on the part of the British government and public, but 
of the whole civilized world. The maratime powers of 
Europe and the United States are vying with each other 
^s to who shall be the first to discover some trace of the 
nissing navigators, and if they be still alive, to render 
*hem assistance. The Hudson's Bay Company have, 
with a noble liberality, placed all their available re- 
sources of men, provisions, and the services of their 
chief and most experienced traders, at the disposal of 
governme^'it. The Russian authorities have also given 



208 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

evei^ facility for diffusing information and afibrdin<i 
assistance in their territories. 

In a letter from Sir John Franklin to Colonel Sabine, 
dated from the Whale Fish Islands, 9th of July, 1845, 
after noticing that, including what they had received 
from the transp Drt which had accompanied them so far, 
the Erebus and Terror had on board provisions, fuel, 
clothing and stores for three years complete from that 
date, i. e. to July, 1848, he continues as follows: — '• I 
liope my dear wife and daughter will not be over-anxious 
if we should not return by the time they have fixed iij)on; 
and I must beg" of you to give them the benefit of your 
advice and experience when that arrives, for you know 
well, that even after the second winter, without success 
in our object, we should wish to try some other channel, 
if the state of our pro^dsions, and the health of the 
crews justify it. 

Capt. Dannett, of the whaler. Prince of Wales, while 
in Melville Bay, last saw the vessels of the expedition, 
niooi-ed to an iceberg, on the 26th of July, in lat. 74° 
48' X., long. GG"^ 13' W., waiting for a favorable open- 
ing through the middle ice from IBafiin's Bay to Lancas- 
ter Sound. Capt. Dannett states that during three weeks 
after parting company with the ships, he experienced 
very fine w^eather, and thinks they would have made 
good progress. 

Lieut. Grifiith, in command of the transport which 
accompanied them out with provisions to Baffin's Bay, 
reports that he left all hands well and in high spirits. 
They were then furnished, he adds, with every species 
•of })ru visions for three entire years, independently of 
five bullocks, and stores of every description for the 
•same ])eriod, with abundance of fuel. 

The following is Sir John Franklin's official letter 
sent liome by the transport : — 

" Her Majesty'' s Ship ' Erebus ^^ 
" Whale-Fish Islands^ Vith ofJuhj^ 1845. 

" I have the honor to acquaint you, for the informa- 
tion of the Lords Commissionei*s of the Admiralty, thai 



^ 



FRANKLII^'S LAST EXPEDITxON. 209 

her Majesty's ships Erebus and Terror, with the trans- 
oort, arrived at this anchorage on the 4th instant, hav- 
ing had a passage of one month from Stromness : the 
transport was immediately taken alongside this ship, 
that she might be the more readily cleared ; and we 
have been constantly employed at that operation till 
last evening, the delay having been caused not so 
much in getting the stores transferred to either of the 
ships, as in making the best stowage of them below, 
as well as on the upper deck ; the ships are now com- 
plete with supplies of every kind for three years ; they 
are therefore very deep ; but, happily, we have no 
reason to expect much sea as we proceed farther. 

'' The magnetic instruments were landed the same 
morning ; so also were the other instruments requisite 
for ascertaining the position of the observatory ; and 
it is satisfactory to find that the result of the observa- 
tions for latitude and longitude accord very nearly 
with those assigned to the same place by Sir Edward 
Parry; those for the dip and variation are equally sat- 
isfactory, which were made by Captain Crozier with 
the instruments belonging to the Terror, and by Com- 
mander Fitzjames with those of the Erebus. 

" The ships are now being swung, for the purpose 
of ascertaining the dip and deviation of the needle on 
board, as was done at Greenhithe, which, I trust, will 
be completed this afternoon, and I hope to be able to 
sail in the night. 

'' The governor and principal persons are at this 
time absent from Disco, so that I have not been able 
to receive any communication from head quarters as 
to the state of the ice to the north ; I have, however, 
learnt from a Danish carpenter in charge of the Es- 
quimaux at these islands, that though the winter was 
feevere, the spring was not later than usual, nor was 
the ice later in breaking away hereabout ; he supposes 
also that it is now loose as far as 74° latitude, and that 
our prospect is favorable of getting across the barrier, 
and as far as Lancaster Sound, without much obstruc- 
tion. 



210 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

"The transport will sail for England this day. 1 
shall instruct the agent, Lieutenant Griffiths, to pro- 
ceed to Deptford, and report his arrival to the Secre- 
tary of the Admiralt}^ I have much satisfaction in 
bearing my testimony to the careful and zealous man- 
ner in which Lieut. Griffiths has performed the service 
intrusted to him, and would beg to recommend him, 
as an officer who appears to have seen much service, 
to the favorable consideration of their lordships. 

"It is unnecessary for me to assure their lordships 
of the energy and zeal of Captain Crozier, Commander 
Fitzjames, and of the officers and men with whom J 
have the happiness of being employed on this service 
"I have, &c., 
(Signed) John Franklin, Captain. 

"The Eight Hon. H. L. Corry, M. P." 

It has often been a matter of surprise that but one 
of the copper cylinders which Sir John Franklin was 
instructed tu throw overboard at stated intervals, to 
record his progress, has ever come to hand, but a re- 
cent sight of the solitary one which has been received 
|>rove8 to me that they are utterly useless for the 
purpose. A small tube, about the size of an ordi- 
nary rocket-case, is hardly ever likely to be observed 
among huge masses of ice, and the waves of the At- 
lantic and Pacific, unless drifted by accident on shore, 
or near some boat. The Admiralty have wisely or- 
dered them to be rendered more conspicuous by being 
headed up in some cask or barrel, instructions being 
issued to Captain Collinson, and other officers of the 
different expeditions to that effect. 

According to Sir John Pichardson, who was on inti- 
mate terms with Sir John Franklin, his plans were to 
shape his course in the first instance for the neighbor- 
hood of Cape Walker, and to push to the westward in 
that parallel, or, if that could not be accomplished, to 
make his way southward, to the channel discovered on 
the north coast of the continent, and so on to Behring's 
Straits ; failing success in that quarter, he meant to re- 
trace his course to Wellington Sound, and attempt 9 



FEANKLIN^S LAST EXPEDITION. 21"! 

passage nortliward of Parry's Islands, and if foiled there 
also, to descend Regent Inlet, and seek the passage 
along the coast discovered by Messrs. Dease and Simp- 
son. 

Captain rit2names, the second in command under 
Sir John Franklin, was mnch inclined to try the pas- 
sage northward of Parry's Islands, and he would no 
doubt endeavor to persuade Sir John to pursue this 
course if they failed to the southward. 

In a private le-tter of Captain Fitzjames to Sir John 
Barrow, dated January, 1845, he writes as follows : — 

" It does not appear clear to me what led Parry down 
Prince Regent Inlet, after having got as far as Melville 
Island before. The northwest passage is certainly to 
be gone through by Barrow's Strait, but whether south 
or north of Parry'a Group, remains to be proved. I am 
for going north, edging northwest till in longitude 140°, 
if possible." 

I shall now proceed to trace, in chronological order 
and succession, the opinions and proceedings of the 
chief arctic explorers and public authorities, with the 
private suggestions offered and notice in detail the re- 
lief expeditions resulting therefrom. 

In February, 1847, the Lords of the Admiralty state, 
that having unlimited confidence in the skill and re- 
sources of Sir John Franklin, they " have as yet felt no 
apprehensions about his safety ; but on the other hand, 
it is obvious, that if no accounts of him should arrive 
by the end of this year, or, as Sir John Ross expects, at 
an earlier period, active steps must then be taken." 

Captain Sir Edward Parry fully concurred in th(:.se 
views, observing, " Former experience has clearly sho\/n 
that with the resources taken from this country, tv>^o 
winters may be passed in the polar regions, not only in 
safety, but with comfort ; and if any inference can be 
drawn from the absence of all intelligence of the ex )e- 
dition up to this time, I am disposed to consider it lea- 
ther in favor than otherwise of the success which ias 
attended their efforts." 

Captain Sir G. Back, in a letter to the Secretary of 

I* 



212 i»eoqeEss Of auctIc discovery. 

the Admiralty, under date 27th of January, 1848, say 6 
" I cannot bring myself to entertain more than ordi- 
nary anxiety for the safety and return of Sir John 
Franklin and his gallant companions." 

Captain Sir John Ross records, in February, 1847, 
his opinion that the expedition was frozen up beyond 
Melville Island, from the knov n intentions of Sir Juhn*" 
Franklin to put his ships into the drift ice at the west- 
ern end of Melville Island, i, risk w^hich was deemed 
in the highest degree imprudent by Lieutenant Parry 
and the officers of the expedition of 1819-20, with 
ships of a less draught of water, and in every respect 
better calculated to sustain the pressure of the ice, and 
other dangers to which they must be exposed ; and as 
it is now well known that the expedition has not suc- 
ceeded in passing Behring's Strait, and if not totally 
lost, must have been carried by the ice that is known 
to drift to the southward on land seen at a great dis- 
tance in that direction, and from which the accumu- 
lation of ice behind them will, as in Ross's own case, 
forever prevent the return of the ships ; consequently 
they must be abandoned. When we remember with 
what extreme difficulty Ross's party traveled 300 miles 
over much smoother ice after they abandoned their 
vessel, it appears very doubtful whether Franklin and 
his men, 138 in number, could possibly travel 600 
miles. 

In the contingency of the ships having penetrated 
some considerable distance to the southwest of Cape 
Walker, and having been hampei'ed and crushed in tho 
narrow channels of the Arghipelago, which there are 
reasons for believing occupies the space between Vic- 
toria, Wollaston, and Banks' Lands, it is well re- 
marked by Sir John Richardson, that such accidents 
among ice are seldom so sudden but that the boats of 
one or of both ships, with provisions, can b e saved ; 
and in such an event the survivors would either returi; 
to Lancaster Strait, or make for the continent, accord 
ing to their nearness. 

Colonel Sabine remarks, in a letter dated Woolvic^, 



i-flANKLIN^S LAST EXPEmXIO^^ ^13 

5th of May, 1847,—" It was Sir John Fratiklin's inten- 
tion, if foiled at one point, to try in succession all the 
probable openings into a more navigable part of the 
Polar Sea: the range of coast is considerable in which 
memorials of the ships' progress would have to be 
sought for, extending from Melville Island, in the west, 
to the great Sound at the head of Baffin's Bay, in the 
east." 

Sir John Richardson, when appealed to by the Admi- 
ralty in the spring of 1847, as regarded the very strong 
apprehensions expressed at that time for the safety of 
the expedition, considered they were premature, as the 
ships were specially equipped to pass two winters in 
the Arctic Sea, and until the close of that year, he saw 
no well-grounded cause for more anxiety than was nat- 
urally^ felt when the expedition sailed from this country 
on an enterprise of peril, though not greater than that 
which had repeatedly been encountered by others, and 
on one occasion by Sir John Ross for two winters also, 
but who returned in safety. 

Captain Sir James C. Ross, in March, 1847, writes* 
"I do not think there is the smallest reason for appre- 
hension or anxiety for the safety and success of the 
expedition ; no one acquainted with the nature of the 
navigation of the Polar Sea would have expected they 
would have been able to get through to Behring's Strait 
without spending at least two winter in those regions, 
except under unusually favorable circumstances, which 
all the accounts from the whalers concur in proving 
they have not experienced, and I am quite sure neither 
Sir John Franklin nor Captain Crozier expected to do so. 

"Their last letters to me from Whale Fish Islands, 
the day previous to their departure fi-om them inform 
me that they had taken on board provisions for three 
years on full allowance, which they could extend to four 
years without any serious inconvenience ; so that we 
may feel assured they cannot want from that cause until 
after the middle of July, 1849 : it therefore does not 
appear to me at all desirable to send after them until the 
spring of the next year." (1848.) 



21^ PROGP.ESS OF ARCtiC DlSCOVEiHT. 

In the plan submitted by Captain F. W. Beecliey, 
R. N., in April, 1847, after premising " that there does 
not at present appear to be any reasonable aj)prehen- 
sion for the safety of the expedition," he suggested that 
it would perhaps be prudent that a relief expedition 
should be sent out that season to Cape Walker, wliere 
information of an impoi'tant nature would most likely 
be found. From this vicinity one vessel could proceed 
to examine the various jDoints and headlands in Eegent 
Inlet, and also those to the northward, while the other 
watched the passage, so that Franklin and his party 
might not pass unseen, should he be on his return. At 
the end of the season the ships could winter at Port 
Bowen, or any other port in the vicinity of Leopold 
Island. 

"In the spring of 1848," he adds, "a part}^ should be 
directed to explore the coast, down to llecla and Fury 
Strait, and to endeavor to communicate with the party 
dispatched by the Hudson's Bay Company in that direc- 
tion ; and in connection with this part of the arrange- 
ment, it would render the plan complete if a boat could 
be sent down Back's River to rango the coast to the 
eastward of its mouth, to meet the above mentioned 
party ; and thus, while it would complete the geography 
of that part of the American coast, it would at the same 
time complete the line of information as to the extensive 
measures of relief which their lordships have set on 
foot, and the precise spot where assistance and depots 
of provisions are to be found. This part of the plan 
has suggested itself to me from a conversation I had 
with Sir John Franklin as to his first effort being made 
to the westward and southwestward of Cape Walker. 
Lt is possible that, after passing the Cape, he may have 
oeen successful in getting down upon Yictoria Land, 
and have passed his first winter (1845) thereabout, and 
chat he may have spent his second winter at a still more 
advanced station, and even endu ed a third, without 
either a prospect of success, or of an extrication of his 
vessels within a given period of time. 

"If, in tliis condition, which I trust may not be tbo 



OtIiflONS ANi) SUGGESTIONS. ^l5 

case, Sir John Franklin should resolve upon taking to 
his boats, he woiild prefer attempting a boat navigation 
through Sir James Ross's Strait, and up Regent Inlet, 
to a long land journey across the continent, to the Hud- 
son's Bay Settlements, to which the greater part of his 
crew would be wholly unequal." 

Sir John Richardson remarks upon the above sugges- 
tions, on the 5th of May, 1847, — " With respect to a 
party to be sent down Back's River to the bottom of 
Regent Inlet, its size and outfit would require to be 
equal with* that of the one now preparing to descend 
the Mackenzie River, and it could scarcely with the 
utmost exertions be organized so as to start this sum- 
mer. The present scarcity of provisions in the Hudson's 
Bay country precludes the hope of assistance from the 
Company's southern posts, and it is now too late to 
provide the means of transport through the interior of 
supplies from this country, which require to be embarked 
on board the Hudson's Bay ships by the 2d of June ai 
the latest. 

"Moreover there is no Company's post on the line ol 
Back's River nearer than the junction of Slave River 
with Great Slave Lake, and I do not think that under 
any circumstances Sir John Franklin would attempt 
that route. 

" In the summer of 1849, if the resources of the party 
I am to conduct remain unimpaired, as I have every 
reason to believe they will, much of what Capt. Beechey 
suggests in regard to exploring Yictoria Land may be 
done by it, and indeed forms part of the original scheme. 
The extent of the examination of any part of the coast 
in 1848 depends, as I fonnerly stated, very much on 
♦■he seasons of this autumn and next spring, which influ- 
ence the advance of the boats through a long course of 
river navigation- As Governor Simpson will most 
likely succeed in procuring an Esquimaux to accom- 
pany my party, I hope by his means to obtain sucli 
information from parties of that nation as may greatly 
facilitate our finding the ships, should they be detained 
in that quartor 



216 PR'^GRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

"Were Sir John Franldin thrown upon the north 
coast of the continent with his boats, and all his crew, 
I do not think he would attempt the ascent of any river, 
except the Mackenzie. It is navigable for boats of large 
draught, without a portage, for 1300 miles from the 
sea, or within forty miles of Fort Chipewyan, one of 
the Company's principal depots, and there are five 
other posts in that distance. Though these posts could 
not furnish provisions to such a party, they could, by 
providing therrwwith nets, and distributing the men to 
various fishing stations, do much toward procuring food 
for them. 

"I concur generally in what Captain Beechey has 
said with regard to Behring's Straits, a locality with 
which he is so intimately acquainted, iDut beg leave to 
add one remark, viz : that in high northern latitudes 
the ordinary allowance of animal food is insufficient in 
the winter season to maintain a laboring man in health ; 
and as Sir John Franklin would deem it prudent when 
detained a second winter to shorten the allowance, 
symptoms of scurvy may show themselves among the 
men, as was the case when Sir Edward Parry wintered 
t^o years in Fox's Channel. 

" A vessel, therefore, meeting the Erebus and Terror 
this season in Behring's Straits, might render great 
service." '^ 

The late Sir John Barrow, Bart., in a memorandum 
dated July, 1847, says : — 

" The anxiety that prevails regarding Sir John Frank- 
lin, and the brave fellows who compose the crews of 
the two ships, is very natural, but somewhat premature ; 
it arises chiefly from nothing having been received from 
tliem since fixed in the ice of Baffin's Bay, where the 
last whaling ship of the season of 1845 left them, oppo« 
site to the opening into Lancaster Sound. Hitherto no 
difficultv has been found to the entrance into that 
Sound. If disappointed, rather than return to the south- 
ward, w th the view of wintering at or about Disco, I 

*Parl. Paper, No. 264, Session 1848. 



6±>iittONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 2lt 

should be inclined to think that they would endeavor to 
enter Smith's Sound, so highly spoken of by Baffin, and 
which just now that gallant and adventurous Russian, 
Admiral Count Wrangel, has pointed out in a paper 
addressed to the Geographical Society as the starting 
place for an attempt to reach the E"orth Pole ; it would 
appear to be an inlet that runs up high to the northward, 
as an officer in one of Parry's ships states that he saw 
in the line of direction along that inlet, the sun at mid- 
night skimming the horizon. 

" From Lancaster Sound Franklin's instructions di- 
rected him to proceed through Barrow's Strait, as far as 
the islands on its southern side extended, which is short 
of Melville Island, which was to be avoided, not only 
on account of its dangerous coast, but also as being out 
of the direction of the course to the intended object. 
Having, therefore, reached the last known land on the 
southern side of Barrow's Strait, they were to shape 
a direct course to Behring's Strait, without any devia- 
tion, except what obstruction might be met with from 
ice, or from, islands, in the midst of the Polar Sea, of 
which no knowledge had at that time been procured ; 
but if any such existed, it would of course be left to 
their judgment, on the spot, how to get rid of such ob- 
structions, by taking a northerly or a southerly course. 

" The only chance of bringing them upon this (the 
American) coast is the possibility of some obstruction 
having tempted them to explore an immense inlet on 
the northern shore of Barrow's Strait, (short of M.( 1 
ville Island,) called Wellington Channel, which Parry 
felt an inclination to explore, and more than one of 
the present party betrayed to me a similar inclination, 
which I discouraged, no one venturing to conjecture 
even to what extent it might go, or into what difficulties 
it might lead. 

" Under all these circumstances, it would be an act 
of folly to pronounce any opinion of the state, condi- 
tion, or position of those two ships; they are wel^ snited 



218 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERt. 

for their purpose, and the only doubt I have is that of 
their being hampered by the screws among the ice." 

Sir James C. Ross, in his outline of a plan for afford 
ing relief, submitted to the Admiralty in December, 
1847, suggested that two ships should be sent out to 
examine Wellington Channel, alluded to in the forego 
ing memorandum of Sir John Barrow, and the coas 
between Capes Clarence and Walker. A convenien 
winter harbor might be found for one of the ships near 
Gamier Bay or Cape Rennell. From this position the 
coast line could be explored as far as it extended to the 
westward, by detached parties, early in the spring, as 
well as the western coast of Boothia, a considerable 
distance to the southward ; and at a more advanced 
period of 'the season the whole distance to Cape Nicolai 
might be completed. 

The other ship should then proceed alone to the 
westward, endeavoring to reach Winter Harbor, in 
Melville Island, or some convenient port in Banks' 
Land, in which to pass the winter. 

From these points parties might be sent out early in 
the spring. 

The first party should be directed to trace the west- 
ern coast of Banks' Land, and proceed direct to Cape 
Bathurst or Cape Parry, on each of which Sir John 
Richardson proposes to leave depots of provisions for 
its use, and then to reach the Hudson's Bay Company's 
settlement at Fort Good Hope, on the Mackenzie, 
whence they might travel by the usual route of tlie 
traders to the principal settlement, and thence to Eng- 
land. 

The second party should explore the eastern shore of 
Banks' Land, and make for Cape Krusenstern, where, 
or at Cape Hearne, they will find a cache of provision 
left by Sir John Richardson, with whom this party 
may communicate, and whom it may assist in comple- 
ting the examination of Wollaston and Victoria Lands, 
or ri^turn to England by the route he shall deem most 
advisable. 

Sir James Ross was intrusted with tho carrying out 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 21^ 

of this search, in the Enterprise and Investigator, and 
an account of the voyage and proceedings of these ves- 
sels will be found recorded in its chronological order. 

The following letter from Dr. Richard King to the 
Lords of the Admiralty contains some useful sugges- 
tions, although it is mixed up with a good deal of ego- 
tistical remark : — 

"17, Saville Bow, February, 1848. 

"'The old route of Parry, through Lancaster Sound 
and Barrow's Strait, as far as to the last land on its 
southern shore, and thence in a direct line to Behring's 
Straits, is the route ordered to be pursued by Frank- 
lin.' * 

"The gallant officer has thus been dispatched to push 
his adventurous way between Melville Island and 
Banks' Land, which Sir E. Parry attempted for two 
years unsuccessfully. After much toil and hardship, 
and the best consideration that great man could give 
to the subject, he recorded, at the moment of retreat, 
in indelible characters, these impressive thoughts : 
'We have been lying near our present station, with 
an easterly wind blowing fresh, for thirty-six hours 
together, and although this was considerably off the 
land, the ice had not during the whole of that time 
moved a single yard from the shore, affording a proof 
that there was no space in which thejce was at liberty 
to move to the westward. The navigation of this part 
of the Polar Sea is only to be performed by watching 
the occasional opening between the ice and the shore, 
ind therefore, a continuity of land is essential for this 
purpose ; such a continuity of land, which was here 
about to fail, as must necessarily be furnished by the 
northern coast of America, in whatsoever latitude it 
may be found.' Assuming, therefore. Sir John Frank- 
lin has been arrested between Melville Island and 
Banks' Land, where Sir E. Parry was arrested by dif- 
ficulties which he considered insurmountable, and h< 
has followed the advice of that gallant officer, auc^ 

'* Barrow's Arctic Voyages, p. 11, 



^20 PfiOGEESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

made for the contiriuit} of America, he will havfe 
turned the prows of his vessel south and west, accord- 
ins: as Banks' Land tends for Victoria or Wollaston 
Lands. It is here, therefore, that we may expect to 
find the expedition wrecked, whence they will make 
in their boats for the western land of North Somerset, 
if that land should not be too far distant. 

"In order to save the party from the ordeal of a 
fourth winter, when starvation must be their lot, I 
propose to undertake the boldest journey that has ever 
been attempted in the northern regions of America, 
one which was justifiable only from the circumstances. 
I propose to attempt to reach the western land of Korth 
Somerset or the eastern portion of Victoria Land, as 
may be deemed advisable, by the close of the ap- 
proaching summer ; to accomplish, in fact, in one sum- 
mer that which has not been done under two. 

" I rest my hope of success in the performance of 
this Herculean task upon the fact, that I possess an in- 
timate knowledge of the country and the people through 
which I shall have to pass, the health to stand the 
rigor of the climate, and the strength to undergo the 
fatigue of mind and body to which 1 must be subjected. 
A glance at the map of IS^orth America, directed to 
Behring's Strait in the Pacific, Barrow's Strait in the 
Atlantic, and the land of North Somerset between 
them, will make it apparent that, to render assistance 
to a party situated on that coast, there are two ways by 
sea and one by land. Of the two sea-ways, the route 
by the Pacific is altogether out of the question ; it is an 
idea of by-gone days ; while that by the Atlantic is so 
doubtful of success, that it is merely necessary, to put 
this assistance aside as far from certain, to mention that 
Sir John Ross found Barrow's Strait closed in the sum- 
mer of 1832. To a land journey, then, alone we can 
look for success ; for the failure of a land journey 
would be the exception to the rule, while the sea expe- 
dition would be the rule itself To the western land of 
North Somerset, wliere Sir John Franklin is likely to 
he found, the Great Fish River is the direct and only 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 221 

route ; and although the approach to it is through a 
country too poor and too difficult of access to admit of 
the transport of provisions, it may be made the medi- 
um of communication between the lost expedition and 
the civilized world, and guides be thus placed at their 
disposal to convey them to the hunting grounds of the 
Indians. Without such guides it is impossible that 
they can reach these hunting grounds. It was by the 
Great Fish River that I reached the Polar Sea while 
acting as second officer, in search of Sir John Ross. 
I feel it my duty, therefore, as one of two officers so 
peculiarly circumstanced, at the present moment to 
place my views on record, as an earnest of my sincer- 
ity. Even if it should be determined to try and force 
provision vessels through Barrow's Strait, and scour 
the vicinity in boats for the lost expedition, and should 
it succeed, it will be satisfactory to know that such a 
mission as I have proposed should be adopted ; while, 
if these attempts should fail, and the service under con 
sideration be put aside, it will be a source of regret 
that not only the nation at large will feel, but the whole 
civilized world. When this regret is felt, and every 
soul has perished, such a mission as I have proposed 
will be urged again and again for adoj)tion ; for it is 
impossible that the country will rest satisfied until a 
search be made for the remains of the lost expedition. 
" The fact that all lands which have a western aspect 
are generally ice-free, which I dwelt largely upon when 
Sir John Franklin sailed, must have had weight with 
the gallant officer ; he will therefore, on finding him- 
self in a serious difficulty, while pushing along the east- 
ern side of Yictoria Land, at once fall upon the western 
land of ISTorth Somerset, as a refuge ground, if he have 
the opportunity. The effort by Behring's Strait and 
Banks' Land is praiseworthy in attempt, but forlorn in 
hope. In the former effort, it is assumed that Sir John 
Franklin has made the passage, and that his arrest is 
between the Mackenzie River and Icy Cape ; in the 
latter, that Sir James Ross will reach Banks' Land, and 
trace its continuity to Yictoria and Wollaston Land. 



222 PROGRESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

and thus make the ' passage.' First, We have no rea- 
son to believe that Sir John Franklin and Sir Jamea 
Iloss will be more fortunate than their predecessors, 
and we cannot trust to their success. Secondly, We 
are unable to assume that Sir James lioss will reach 
Bank's Land ; Sir E. Parry was unable to reach it, and 
only viewed it from a distance ; much less are we able 
to assume that the gallant officer will find a high road 
to Victoria Land, which is altogether a terra incognita, 

" Mr. T. Simpson, who surveyed the arctic coast 
comprised between the Coppermine and Castor and 
Pollux Rivers, has set that question at rest, and is the 
only authority upon the subject. ' A further explora- 
tion,' remarks Mr. Simpson, from the most eastern limit 
of his journey, ' would necessarily demand the whole 
time and energies of another expedition, having some 
point of retreat much nearer to the scene of operations 
than Great Bear Lake, and Great Bear Lake is to be 
the retreat of Sir John Richardson.' 

" What retreat could Mr. Simpson have meant but 
Great Slave Lake, the retreat of the land party in search 
of Sir John Ross ? and what other road to the unex- 
plored ground, the western land of North Somerset, 
could that traveler have meant than Great Fish River, 
that stream which I have pointed out as the ice free 
and high road to the land where the lost expedition is 
likely to be found, — to be the boundary of that pass- 
age which for three and a half centuries we have been 
in vain endeavoring to reach in ships ? " 

Captain Sir W. E. Parry, to whom Dr. King's pro- 
posal was submitted by the Admiralty, thus comments 
on it : — 

" My former opinion, quoted by Dr. King, as to the 
difficulty of ships penetrating to the westward beyond 
Cape Dundas, (the southwestern extremity of Melville 
Island,) remains unaltered ; and I should expect that 
Sir John Franklin, being aware of this difficulty, would 
use his utmost efforts to get to the southward and west- 
ward before he approached that point, that is, between 
the 100th and 110th degree of longitude, The more J 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 



have considered this subject, (which has naturally occu- 
pied much of my attention lately,) the more difficult 1 
find it to conjecture where the expedition may have 
stopped, either with or without any serious accident to 
the ships ; but as no information has reached us up to 
this time, I conceive that there is some considerable 
probability of their being situated somewhere between 
the longitude I have just named ; how far they may 
have penetrated to the southward, between those meri- 
dians, must be a matter of speculation, depending on 
the state of the ice, and the existence of land in a space 
hitherto blank on our maps. 

" Be this as it may, I consider it not improbable, as 
suggested by Dr. King, that an attempt will be made 
by them to fall back on the western coast of North 
Somerset, wherever that may be found, as being the 
nearest point affording a hope of communication, either 
with whalers or with ships sent expressly in search of 
the expedition. 

"Agreeing thus far with Dr. King, I am compelled 
to differ with him entirely as to the readiest mode of 
reaching that coast, because I feel satisfied that, with 
the resources of the expedition now equipping under 
Sir James Ross, the energy, skill, and intelligence of 
that officer will render it a matter of no very difficult 
enterprise to examine the coast in question, either with 
his ships, boats, or traveling parties ; whereas an at- 
tempt to reach that coast by an expedition from the 
continent of America must, as it appears to me, be ex- 
tremely hazardous and uncertain. And as I under- 
stand it to be their lordships' intention to direct Sir 
James Ross to station one of his ships somewhere about 
Cape Walker, while the other proceeds on the search, 
and likewise to equip his boats specially for the pur- 
pose of examining the various coasts and inlets, I am 
decidedly of opinion, that, as regards the western coast 
of North Somerset, this plan will be much more likely 
to answer the proposed object, than any overland 
expedition. This object will, of course, be the more 
easily accomplished in case of Sir James Boss finding 



224: PROGRESS JF AitCnC DISCtVERT. 

the western coast of North Somerset navigable for his 
6hij)S. 

" In regard to Dr. King's suggestion res]3ecting Yic 
toria Land and Wollaston Land, supposing Sir John 
Franklin's ships to have been arrested between the 
meridians to which I have already alluded, it does 
seem, by an inspection of the map, not improbable that 
parties may attempt to penetrate to the continent in 
that direction ; but not being well acquainted with the 
facilities for reaching the coast of America opposite 
those lands in tlie manner proposed by Dr. King, I am 
not competent to judge of its practicability." 

Nearly the whole of the west coast of North Somer- 
set and Boothia was, (it will be found hereafter,) ex- 
plored by parties in boats detached from Sir James 
Koss's ships in 1849. 

I append, also, the most important portions of Sir 
James Ross's remarks on Dr. King's plan. 

" Dr. King begins by assuming that Sir John Frank- 
lin has attempted to push the ships through to the west- 
ward, between Melville Island and Banks' Land, (al- 
though directly contrary to his instructions ;) that hav- 
ing been arrested by insurmountable difficulties, he 
would have ' turned the prows of his vessels to the 
south and west, according as Banks' Land tends for 
Victoria or Wollaston Land ;' and having been wrecked, 
or from any other cause obliged to abandon their ships, 
their crews would take to the boats, and make for the 
west coast of North Somerset. 

" If the expedition had failed to penetrate to the 
westward between Banks' Land and Melville Island, it 
is very probable it would have next attempted to gain 
the continent by a more southerly course ; and suppos- 
ing that, after making only small progress, (say 100 
miles,) to the Bouthwest, it should have been then finally 
stopped or wrecked, the calamity will have occurred 
in about latitude 72 i° N., and longitude 115° W. This 
point is only 280 miles from the Coppermine Kiver 
and 420 miles from the Mackenzie, either of whicl 
would, therefore, be easily attainable, and at eacli of 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. liZO 

vvhicli, abundance of provision might be procured by 
them, and their return to England a measure of no 
great difficulty. 

" At the jDoint above mentioned, the distance from 
the west coast of North Somerset is probably about 360 
miles, and the mouth of the Great lish Eiver full 500 ; 
at neither of these places could they hope to obtain a 
single day's provisions for so large a party ; and Sir 
John Franklin's intimate knowledge of the impossibil- 
ity of ascending that river, or obtaining any food for 
his party in passing through the Barren grounds, would 
concur in deterring him from attempting to gain either 
of these points. 

" I think it most probable that, from the situation 
pointed out, he would, when compelled to abandon his 
ships, endeavor in the boats to retrace his steps, and 
passing through the channel by which he had advanced, 
and which we have always found of easy navigation, 
seek the whale aiiips which annually visit the west coast 
of Baffin's Bay. 

''It is far more probable, however, that Sir Jolm 
Franklin, in obedience to his instructions, would en 
deavor to push the ships to the south and west as soon 
as they passed Cape Walker, and the consequence of 
such a measure, owing to the known prevalence of 
westerly wind, and the drift of the main body of the 
ice, would be (in my opinion) their inevitable embarrass- 
ment, and if he persevered in that direction which he 
probably would do, I have no hesitation in stating my 
conviction he would never be able to extricate his 
ships, and would ultimately be obliged to abandon them. 
It is therefore in latitude 73° N. and longitude 105° W. 
that we may expect to find them involved in the ice, 
or shut up in some harbor. This is almost the only 
point in which it is likely they would be detained, or 
from which it would not be possible to convey informa- 
tion of their situation to the Hudson's Bay Settlements. 

" If, then, we suppose the crews of the ships should 
be compelled, either this autumn or next spring, to 
{^bandon their vessels at or near this point, they would 



226 FJROGKJstts OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

most assuredly endeavor, in tlieir boats, to reacli Lan- 
caster Sound ; but I cannot conceive any position in 
which they could be placed from which they would 
make for the Great Fish Eiver, or at which any partj 
descending that river would be likely to overtake them ; 
and even if it did, of what advantage could it be to 
them? 

" If Dr. King and his party, in their single canoe, 
did fall in with Sir John Franklin and his party on the 
west coast of JSTorth Somerset, how does he propose to 
assist them ? he would barely have sufficient provision 
for his own party, and would more probably be in a 
condition to require rather than afford relief. He could 
only tell them what Sir John Franklin already knows, 
from former experience, far better than Dr. King, that it 
would be impossible for so large a party, or indeed any 
party not previously provided, to travel across the bar- 
ren grounds to any of the Hudson's Bay Settlements." 

" All that has been done by the way of search since 
February, 1848, tends," persists Dr. King, " to draw 
attention closer and closer to the western land of Korth 
Somerset, as the position of Sir John Franklin, and to 
the Great Fish (or Back) Biver, as the high road to 
reach it," 

Dr. King has twice proposed to the Admiralty to 
proceed on the search by this route. " It would," he 
states, " be the happiest moment of my life (and my 
delight at being selected from a long list of volunteers, 
for the relief of Sir John Boss, was very great) if their 
I'jrdships would allow me to go by my old route, the 
(freat Fish Biver, to attempt to save human life a sec- 
ond time on the shores of the Polar Sea. What I did 
in search of Sir John Boss is the best earnest of what 
I could do in search of Sir John Franklin." 

A meeting of those officers and gentlemen most con 
versant with arctic voyages was convened by the 
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on the 17th of 
January, 1849, at ^vhich the following were present : — 
Bear- Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, K. C. B., Captain 
Sir W. E. Parry, B. X., Captain Sir George Back, B 



OiPiNiONS ANb SUOGiiSTlONS. ^27 

N"., Captain Sir E. Belcher, K. N., Colonel Sabine, R. 
A.., and the Rev. Dr. Scoresby. 

A very pretty painting, containing portraits of all the 
principal arctic voyagers in consultation on these mo- 
mentous matters, has been made by Mr. Pearse, artist, 
of 53, Berners Street, Oxford Street, which is well 
worthy of a visit. The beantifiil Arctic Panorama of 
Mr. Burford, in Leicester Square, will also give a 
graphic idea of the scenery and aj^pearance of the icy 
regions ; the whole being designed from authentic 
sketches by Lieut. Browne, now of the Pesolute, and 
who was out in the Enterprise in her trip in 1848, and 
also with Sir James Boss in his antarctic voyage. 

The expedition under Sir James Boss having re- 
turned unsuccessful, other measures of relief were now 
determined on, and the opinions of the leading officers 
again taken. 

Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, in his report to the 
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, on November 
24:th, 1849, observes : — 

" There are four ways only in which it is likely that 
the Erebus and Terror would have been lost — by fire, 
by sunken rocks, by storm, or by being crushed be- 
tween two fields of ice. Both vessels would scarcely 
have taken fire together ; if one of them had struck on a 
rock the other would have avoided the danger. Storms 
in those narrow seas, encumbered with ice, raise no 
swell, and could produce no such disaster ; and there- 
fore, by the fourth cause alone could the two vessels 
have been at once destroyed ; and even in that case 
the crews would have escaped upon the ice (as happens 
every year to the whalers ;) they would have saved 
their loose boats, and reached some part of the American 
shores. As no traces of any such event have been found 
on any part of those shores, it may therefore be safely 
affirmed that one ship at least, and both the crews, 
are still in existence ; and therefore the point where 
they now are is the great matter for consideration. 

"Their orders would have carried them toward Mel- 
ville Island, and then out to the westward, where it is 

J 



228 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DlSCOVEfet 

therefore probable that thej are entangled among 
islands and ice. For should thej have been arrested 
at some intermediate place, for instance, Cape Walker, 
or at one of the northern chain of islands, they would, 
undoubtedly, in the course of the three following years, 
liave contrived some method of sending notices of theii 
position to the shores of North Somerset or to Barrow's 
Strait. 

"If they had reached much to the southward of 
Bank's Land, they would surely have communicated 
with the tribes on Mackenzie Eiver ; and if, failing to 
get to the westward or southward, they had returned 
with the intention of penetrating through Wellington 
Channel, they would have detached parties on the ice 
toward Barrow's Strait, in order to have deposited 
statements of their intentions. 

" The general conclusion, therefore, remains, that they 
are still locked up in the Archipelago to the westward 
of Melville Island. N^ow, it is well known that the 
state of the weather alternates between the opposite 
sides of ISTorthern America, being mild on the one when 
rigorous on the other ; and accordingly, during the two 
last years, which have been unusually severe in Baffin's 
Bay, the IJnited States whalers were successfully trav- 
ersing the Polar Sea to the northward of Behring's 
Straits. The same severe weather may possibly prevail 
on the eastern side during the summer of 1850, and if 
so, it is obvious that an attempt should be now made 
by the western opening, and not merely to receive the 
two ships, if they should be met coming out (as for- 
merly,) but to advance in the direction of Melville 
Island, resolutely entering the ice, and employing every 
possible expedient by sledging parties, by reconnoitering 
balloons, and by blasting the ice, to communicate with 
thei^ 

"These vessels should be intrepidly commanded, 
effectively manned, and supplied with the best means 
for traveling across the ice to the English or to the 
Russian settlements, as it will be of the greatest impor- 
tance to be informed of wliat progr-^ss the expedition 



OPINtONS AWD SDuOESTlONl^. 22^ 

has made ; and for this purpose likewise the Piover 
will be of material service, lying at some advanced 
point near Icy Cape, and ready to receive intelligence, 
and to convey it to Petropanlski or to Panama. 

" These vessels should enter Behring's Straits before 
the first of August, and therefore every effort should 
be now made to dispatch them from England before 
Christmas. They might water at the Falkland Islands, 
and again at the Sandwich Islands, where they would 
be ready to receive additional instructions via Panama, 
by one of the Pacific steamers, and by which vessel 
they might be pushed on some little distance to the 
northward. 

" It seems to me likely that the ships have been push- 
ing on, summer after summer, in the direction of Behr- 
ing's Straits, and are detained somewhere in the space 
southwestward of Banks' Land. On the other hand, 
should they, after the first or second summer, have been 
unsuccessful in that direction, they may have attempted 
to proceed to the northward, either through Wellington 
Channel, or through some other of the openings among 
the same group of islands. I do not myself attach any 
superior importance to Wellington Channel as regards 
the northwest passage, but I understand that Sir John 
Franklin did, and that he strongly expressed to Lord 
Haddington his intention of attempting that route, if 
he should fail in effecting the more direct passage to 
the westward. 

"The ships having been folly victualed for three 
years, the resources may, by due precautions, have 
been extended to four years for the whole crews ; but 
it has occurred to me, since I had the honor of confer- 
ring with their lordships, that, if their numbers have 
been gradually diminished to any considerable extent 
by death, (a contingency which is but too probable, con- 
sidering their unparalleled detention in the ice,) the 
resources would be proportionably extended for the 
survivors, whom it might, therefore, be found expedient 
to transfer to one of the ships, with all the remaining 
stores, and with that one ship to continue the endeavor 



230 I'ttOGRESS OP AEuTlC DISCOVEiJT. 

to push westward, or to return to the eastward, as cir- 
cumstances might render expedient ; in that case, the 
necessity for quitting both the ships in the past sum- 
mer might not improbably have been obviated. 

" Under these circumstances, which, it must be admit 
ted, amount to no more than mere conjecture, it seems 
to me expedient still to 2)rosecute the search in both 
directions, namely, by way of Behring's Strait (to which 
I look with the strongest hope,) and also by that of 
Barrow's Strait. In the latter direction, it ought, I 
think, to be borne in mind, that the more than usual 
difficulties with which Sir James Ross had to contend, 
have, in reality, left us with very little more informa- 
tion than before he left England, and I cannot contem- 
plate without serious apprehension, leaving that opening 
without still further search in the ensuing spring, in 
case the missing crews have fallen back to the eastern 
coast of North Somerset, where they would naturally 
look for supplies to be deposited for them, in addition 
to the chance of finding some of those left by the Fury. 
For the purpose of further pursuing the search by way 
of Barrow's Strait, perhaps two small vessels of 150 or 
200 tons might suffice, but they must be square rigged 
for the navigation among the ice. Of course the object 
of such vessels would be nearly that which Sir James 
Ross's endeavors have failed to accomplish ; and the 
provisions, &c., left by that officer at Whaler Point, 
as well as any which may be deposited in that neigh- 
borhood by the North Star, would greatly add to the re- 
sources, facilitate the operations, and lessen the risk of 
any attempt made in that direction. 

" If, however, there be time to get ships to Behring's 
Straits by the first week in August, 1850, which would 
perhaps require the aid of steam vessels to accomplish 
with any degree of certainty, I recommend that the 
Enterprise and Investigator be forthwith equipped and 
dispatched there, with instructions to push through the 
ice to the E. N. E. as far as possible in the ensuing sea- 
son, witli the hope of meeting with at least one of the 
ships, or any of the parties wliich may have been 



opmiONg AND Suggestions. ^31 

detached from them. This attempt has uever yet been 
made by any ships, and I cling very strongly to the 
belief that such an effort might be attended with suc- 
cess in rescuing at least a portion of our people. 

'' My reason for urging this upon their Lordships is, 
that the admirable instructions under which the Plover 
assisted by the Herald, is acting, embraces only the 
search of the coast line eastward from Icy Cape ; since 
the boats and baidars cannot effect any thing except by 
creeping along as opportunities offer, between the ice 
and the land, so that this plan of operations meets only 
the contingency of parties reaching, or nearly reaching, 
the land ; whereas the chance of rescue would, as it 
appears to me, be immensely increased by ships push- 
ing on, clear of the coast, toward Banks' Land and 
Melville Island, as far at least as might be practical)! 
in the best five or six weeks of the season of 1850." 

Captain Parry says — "Although this is the first at- 
tempt ever made to enter the ice in this direction, with 
ships properly equipped for the pui*pose, there is no 
reason to anticipate any greater difficulties in this navi- 
gation than those encountered in other parts of the 
North Polar Sea ; and, even in the event of not suc- 
ceeding in reaching Banks' Land in the summer of the 
present year, it may be possible to make such progress 
as to afford a reasonable hope of effecting that object 
in the following season (1851.) Indeed it is possible 
that, from the well known fact of the climate being 
more temperate in a given parallel of latitude, in going 
westward from the Mackenzie "River, some comparative 
advantage may be derived in the navigation of this 
part of the Polar Sea. 

" It is of importance to the security of the ships and 
of their crews that they should winter in some harbor 
or bay not at a distance from land, where the ice might 
be in motion during the winter ; and it will be desira- 
ble, should no land be discovered fit for this purpose, 
m the space at present unexplored between Point Bar- 
row and Banks' Land, that endeavors should be made to 
reach the continent about the mouth of the Mackenzie 



i^32 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DtSCOVERY. 



River, or further eastward, toward Liverpool Bay, 
where there is reason to suppose that sufficient shelter 
may be found, and in which neighborhood, it appears, 
there is generally no ice to be seen from the shore foi 
about six weeks in the months of August and Septem- 
ber. Sir Jolm Franldin's narrative of his secona jour 
ney, that of Messrs. Dease and Simpson, and the 
Admiralty Charts, will furnish the requisite hydro 
graphical information relative to this line of coast, sc> 
far as it has been attained. 

" The utmost economy should be exercised in the use 
of provisions and fuel during the time the ships are in 
winter quarters ; and if they should winter on or near 
the continent, there would probably be an opportunity 
of increasing their stock of provisions by means of 
game or fish, and likewise of fuel, by drift or other 
wood, to some considerable amount. 

" If the progress of the ships in 1850 has been con- 
siderable — for instance, as far as the meridian of 120° 
W. — the probability is, that the most practicable way 
of returning to England will be, still to push on in the 
same direction during the whole season of 1851, with 
a view to reach Barrow's Strait, and take advantage, 
if necessary, of the resoiu'ces left by Captain Sir James 
Ross at Whaler Point, near Leopold Harbor ; if not the 
same season, at least after a second winter. If, on tlie 
other hand, small progress should have been made to 
the eastward at tlie close of the present summer, it 
might be prudent that when half the navigable season 
of 1851 shall have expired, no furtlier attempts should 
be made in proceeding to the eastward, and that the 
remaining half of that season should be occupied in 
returning to the westward, with a view to escape from 
the ice by way of Behring's Straits after the winter of 
1851-52, so as not to incur the risk of passing a third 
winter in the ice. 

" During the summer season, the most vigilant look- 
out should be kept from the mast-heads of both ships 
night and day, not only for the missing ships, but for 
iny detached parties belonging to tliem ; and during 



OPINIOKS AKD SUGGESTIONS. 233 

the few hours of darkness which prevail toward the close 
of eacli season's navigation, and also when in winter 
quarters, signals, by fires, blue lights, rockets or guns, 
should be made as the means of pointing out the posi- 
tion of the ships to any detached parties belonging to 
the missing expedition. And in the spring before the 
ships can oe released from the ice, searching parties 
might be sent out in various directions, either in boats 
or by land, to examine the neighboring coasts and inlets 
for any trace of the missing crews." 

Captain Sir George Back also comments (1st of De- 
cember, 1849,) on these intentions, in a letter to the Sec- 
retary of the Admiralty : — 

" You will be pleased, Sir, to impress upon my Lords 
Commissioners, that I wholly reject all and every idea 
of any attempts on the part of Sir John Franklin to 
send boats or detachments over the ice to any part of 
the main-land eastward of the Mackenzie River, because 
I can say from experience, that no toil-worn and ex- 
hausted j)arty could have the least chance of existence 
by going there. 

" On the other hand, from my knowledge of Sir John 
Franklin, (having been three times on discovery to- 
gether,) I much doubt if he would quit his ship at all, 
except in a boat ; for any attempt to cross the ice a long 
distance on foot would be tempting death ; and it is too 
laborious a task to sledge far over such an uneven sur- 
face as those regions generally present. That great 
mortality must have occurred, and that one ship, as Sir 
E. Beaufort hints at, may be lost, are greatly to be feared ; 
and, as on all former expeditions, if the survivors arc 
paralyzed by the depressing attacks of scurvy, it would 
then be impossible for them, however desirous they 
might be, to leave the ship, which must thus become 
tlieir last most anxious abode. 

"If, however, open water should have allowed Sir 
John Franklin to have resorted to his boats, then I am 
persuaded he would make for either the Mackenzie 
Kiver, or, which is far more likely, from the almost 
certainty lie must have felt of finding provision, Cai^n 
Clarenc'-^ and Fury "Point 



2^4 VROGRl'^SS OK ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

" I am aware tliat the whole ciiances of lite in this 
painful case depend on food ; but when 1 reflect on 
(Sir John Franklin's former extraordinary preservation 
under miseries and trials of the most severe description, 
living often on scraps of old leatlier and other refuse, 1 
cannot des])air of his finding the means to prolong exist- 
ence till aid be happily sent him." 

Dr. Sir John Ricliardson on the same day also sends 
in his opinion, as requested, on the proposed dispatch 
of the Enterprise and Investigator to Behring's Strait : 

" It seems to me to be very desirable that the western 
shores of the Archipelago of Parry's Islands should be 
searched in a high latitude in the manner proposed by 
the hydrographer. 

" If the proposed expedition succeeds in establishing 
its winter quarters among these islands, parties de- 
tached over the ice may trav.el to the eastward and 
southeastward, so as to cross the line of search which it 
is hoped Mr. Ilae has been able to pursue in the present 
summer, and thus to determine whether any traces of 
the missing ships exist in localities the most remote 
from Behring's Strait and Lancaster Sound, and from 
whence shipwrecked crews would find the greatest difli- 
culty in traveling to any p)lace where they could hope 
to find relief 

" The climate of Arctic America improves in a sensi- 
ble manner with an increase of western longitude. On 
the Mackenzie, on the 135th meridian, the summer is 
warmer than in anv district of the continent in the same 
parallel, and it is still finer, and the vegetation more 
luxuriant on the banks of the Yucon, on the 150th me- 
ridian. Tins superiority of climate leads me to infer, 
tliat ships well fortified against drift-ice, will find the 
navigation of the Arctic Seas more practicable in its 
western portion than it has been found to tlie eastward. 
This inference is sup2)orted by my own personal expe- 
rience, as far as it goes. I met with no ice in the month 
of August, on my late voyage, till I attained the 123d 
meridian, and which I was led, from that circumstance, 
to su]>]K>Re coincided with the western limits of Parry'fa 
Archipolaor 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 285 

'The greater facility of navigating from the west ha? 
Lt?on powerfully advocated by others on former occa- 
sions ; and the chief, perhaps the only reason why the 
attempt to penetrate the Polar Sea from that (juartej 
has not been resumed since the time of Cook is, that 
the length of the previons voyage to Behring's Straii 
would considerabrly diminish the otore of provisions 
but the facilities of obtaining supplies in the Pacilic are 
now so augmented, that this objection has no longer the 
Bame force." 

Captain F. W. Beechey, writing from Cheltenham, 
on the 1st of December, 1849, says : — 

" I quite agree with Sir Francis Beaufort in what he 
has stated with regard to anv casualties which Sir J. 
Franklin's ships may have sustained, and entirely agree 
with him and Sir Edward Parry, that the expedition is 
probably hampered among the ice somewhere to the 
southwestward of Melville Island ; but there is yet a 
])ossibility which does not appear to have been contem- 
l)lated, which is, that of the scurvy having spread among 
the crew-, and incapacitated a large j^roportion of them 
from making any exertion toward their release, or that 
the wdiole, in a debilitated state, may yet be clinging 
by their vessels, existing sparingly upon the provision 
which a large mortality may have sjDun out, in the hope 
of relief. 

" In the first case, that of the ships being hampered 
and the crews in good health, I think it certain that, a? 
the resoui'ces of the ships would be ex]^ended in May 
last. Sir John Franklin and his crew have abandoned 
the ships, and pushed forward for the nearest point 
where they might reasonably expect assistance, and 
which they could reasonably reach. 

"There are consequently three points to which it 
would be proper to direct attention, and as the case is 
urgent, every possible method of relief should be ener- 
getically ]Hished forward at as early a ])eriod as possi- 
ble, and directed to those points, which, I need scarcely 
say, are Barrow's Strait, Behring's Strait, and the 
aorthern coast of America. 

15 J* 



236 PEOGEESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVEKY. 

" Of the measures wliicli can be resorted to on thi 
northern coast of America, the officers who have haC 
experience there, and the Hudson's Bay Company, will 
be able to judge ; but I am of opinion that nothing 
should be neglected in that quarter ; for it seems to 
me almost certain that Sir John Franklin and his crew, 
if able to travel, have abandoned their ships and made 
for the continent ; and if they have not succeeded in 
gaining the Hudson's Bay outposts, they have been 
overtaken by winter before they could accomplish their 
purpose. 

"Lastly as to the opinion which naturally forces itself 
upon us, as to the utility of the sending relief to per 
sons whose means of subsistence will have failed them 
more than a year by the time the relief could reach 
them, I would observe, that a prudent reduction of the 
allowance may have been timely made to meet an 
emergency, or great mortality may have enabled the 
survivors to subsist up to the time required, or it may 
!)o that the crews have just missed reaching the points 
v [.sited by our parties last year before they quitted them, 
and in the one case may now be subsisting on the sup- 
plies at Leoj^old Island, or be housed in eastward of Point 
Barrow, sustained by depots which have been fallen in 
with, or by the native supplies ; so that under all the 
circumstances, I do not consider their condition so 
utterly hopeless that we should give up the expectation 
of yet being able to render them a timely assistance. 

" The endeavors to push forward might be continued 
until the 30th of August, at latest, at which time, if the 
ships be not near some land where they can conven 
iently pass a winter, they must direct their course for 
the main-land, and seek a secure harbor in which they 
could remain. And on no account should they risk a 
winter in the pack, in consequence of the tides and 
shallow water lying off the coast. 

"Should the expedition reach Herschel Island, or 
any other place of refuge on the coast near the mouth 
of the Mackenzie or Colville Rivers, endeavors should 
be made to communicate inju-mation of the ships' posi- 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 23T 

tion and summer's proceedings through the Hudson's 
Bay Company or Russian settlements, and by means 
of interpreters ; and no opportunity should be omitted 
of gaining from the natives information of the missing 
ressels, as well as of any boat expeditions that may have 
^one forward, as well as of the party imder Dr. Rae. 

" K nothing should be heard of Sir John Franklin in 
1850, parties of observation should be sent forward in 
the spring to intercept the route the ship would have 
pursued, and in other useful directions between winter 
quarters and Melville Island ; taking especial care that 
they return to the ship before the time of liberation 
of the ships arrives, which greatly depends upon their 
locality. 

" Then, on the breaking up of the ice, should any 
favorable appearance of the ice present itself, the expe- 
dition might be left free to take advantage of such a 
prospect, or to return round Point Barrow ; making it 
imperative, however, either to insure their return, so 
far as human foresight may be exercised, or the cer- 
tainty of their reacliing Melville Island at the close of 
that season, and so securing their return to England 
in 1852. 

" If, after all, any unforeseen event should detain the 
ships beyond the period contemplated above, every 
exertion should be used, by means of boats and in- 
terpreters, to communicate with the Mackenzie ; and 
should any casualty render it necessary to abandon the 
vessels, it should be borne in mind that the reserve-ship 
will remain at her quarters until the autumn of 1853, 
unless she hears of the safety of the ships and boats 
in other directions ; while in the other quarter. Fort 
Macpherson, at the entrance of the Mackenzie, may be 
relied upon as an asylum. 

"The Plover, or reserve-ship, should be provided 
with three years' provisions for her own crew, and for 
contingencies besides. She should be placed as near 
as possible to Point Barrow, and provided with inter- 
preters, and the means of offering rewards for infor- 
mation ; and she should remain at her quarters so lon^ 



238 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

as there can be any occasion for her presence in the 
Arctic Seas ; or, if she does not hear any thing of the 
expedition under Captain Collinson, as long as hei 
provisions will last." 

Sir John Richardson offers the following advice for 
this expedition : — " If," he says, " it should winter 
near the mouth of the Yucan or Colville, that river 
may be ascended in a boat in the month of June, be- 
fore the sea ice begins to give way. The river varies 
in width from a mile and a half to two miles, and 
flows through a rich, well-wooded valley, abounding in 
moose deer, and having a comparatively mild climate. 
A Russian trading post has been built on it, at the dis 
tance of three or four days' voyage from the sea, with 
the current ; but as the current is strong, from nine to 
twelve days must be allowed for its ascent, with the 
tracking line. It would be unsafe to rely upon receiv- 
ing a supply of provisions at the Russian post, as it is 
not likely that any stock beyond what is necessary for 
their own use is laid up by the traders ; and the moose 
deer being a very shy animal, is not easily shot by an 
unpracticed hunter ; but the reindeer abound on the 
neighboring hills, and are much more approachable. 
The wliite-fronted goose also breeds in vast flocks in 
that district of the country, and may be killed in num- 
bers, without diflficulty, in the month of June. 

"If the expedition should winter within a reason- 
able distance of the Mackenzie, Captain Collinson 
may have it in his power to send dispatches to England 
by that route. • 

"The river opens in June, and as soon as the ice 
ceases to drive, may be ascended in a boat, with a fair 
wind, under sail, or with a tracking line. 

"The lowest post at present occupied by the II ad- 
son's Bay Company on this river is Fort Good Hope. 
The site of this post has been changed several times, 
but it is at this time on the right bank of the river, in 
latitude 66° 16' 1^., and is ten or eleven days' voyage 
from the sea. At Point Separation, opposite to the 
middle ch*^»nel of the delta of the river, and on the 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 239 



•iOi 



;inontory which separates the Peel and the Mac- 
kenzie, there is a case of pemraican (80 lbs.) buried, ten 
feet distant from a tree, which has its middle branches 
lopped off, and is marked on the trunk with a broad 
arrow in black paint. A fire was made over the pit 
in which the case is concealed, and the remains of the 
charcoal will point out the exact spot. This hoard 
was visited last year by a party from Fort Macpher- 
6011, Peel's River, when all was safe. 

" Eight bags of pemmican, weighing 90 lbs. each, 
were deposited at Fort G-ood Hope in 1848, and would 
remain there last summer for the use of any boat 
parties that might ascend the river in 1849 ; but it is 
probable that part, or the whole, may have been used 
by the Company by next year. 

" A boat party should be furnished with a small 
seine and a short herring net, by the use of which a 
good supply of fish may often be procured in the 
eddies or sandy bays of the Mackenzie. They should 
also be provided with a good supply of buck-shot, swan- 
shot, duck-shot, and gunpowder. Th-e Loucheux and 
Hare Indians will readily give such provisions as they 
may happen to have, in exchange for ammunition. 
They will expect to receive tobacco gratuitously, as 
they are accustomed to do from the traders. 

"The Mackenzie is the only water-way by which 
any of the Hudson's Bay Company's posts can be 
reached from the Arctic Sea. There is a post on the 
Peel River which enters the delta of the Mackenzie, 
out no supplies can be procured there. To the east- 
ward of the Mackenzie no ship-party would have a 
chance of reaching a trading post, the nearest to the 
sea being Fort Resolution, on Great Slave Lake, situ- 
ated on the 61 st parallel of latitude, and the interven- 
ing hilly country, intersected by numerous lakes and 
rapid rivers, could not be crossed by such a party ii 
less than an entire summer, even could they depeni 
on their guns for a supply of food. Neither would 
be ad^asable for a party from the ships to attempt to 
rea.ch the posts on the Mackenzie by way of the Cop^ 



240 PKOGRESS OF AKCTIO DISCOVERY. 

permine River and Fort Confidence ; as, in the ab 
sence of means of transport across Great Bear Lake, 
the journey round that irregular sheet of water, would 
be long and hazardous. Bear Lake Elver is more 
than fifty miles long, and Fort ISTorman, the nearest 
post on the Mackenzie, is thirty miles above its mouth. 
Mr. Rae was instructed to engage an Indian family or 
two to hunt on the tract of country between the Cop- 
permine and Great Bear Lake in the summer of 1850 ; 
but no great reliance can be placed on these Indians 
remaining long there, as they desert their hunting 
quarters on very slight alarms, being in continual 
dread of enemies, real or imaginary. 

" A case of pemmican was buried on the summit ol 
the bank, about four or five miles from the summit of 
Cape Batlmrst, the spot being marked by a pole planted 
in the earth, and the exact locality of the deposit by a fire 
of drift-wood, much of which would remain unconsumed. 

" Another case was deposited in the cleft of a rock, 
on a small battlemented cliif, which forms the extreme 
part of Cape Parry. The case was covered with loose 
stones ; and a pile of stones painted red and white, 
was erected immediately in front of it. This clifi" re- 
sen i])les a cocked-hat in some points of view, and pro- 
jects like a tongue from the base of a rounded hill, 
which is 500 or 600 feet high. 

" Several cases of pemmican were left exposed on a 
ledge of rocks in latitude 68° 35' N., opposite Lambert 
Island, in Dolphin and Union Strait, and in a bay to 
the westward of Cape Krusenstern, a small boat and 
ten pieces of pemmican were deposited under a high 
clift', above high water mark, without concealment. 
The Esquimaux on this part of the coast are not nu- 
merous, and from the position of this hoard, it may 
escape discovery by them ; but I have every reason to 
believe that the locality has been visited by Mr. Rae in 
the past summer. A deposit of larger size, near Cape 
Kendall, has been more certainly visited by Mr. Rae." 

Captain Sir J. C, Ross writes from Haslar, 11th of 
February, 1850. 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 241 

" With respect to the probable position of the Erebus 
and Terror, I consider that it is hardly possible they 
can be anywhere to the eastward of Melville Island, 
or within 300 miles of Leopold Island, for if that were 
the case, they would assuredly, during the last spring, 
have made their way to that point, with the hope of 
receiving assistance from the whale-ships which, foi 
several years previous to the departure of that expedi- 
tion from England, had been in the habit of visiting 
Prince Regent Inlet in pursuit of whales ; and in that 
case they must have been met with, or marks of their 
encampments have been found by some of the numer- 
ous parties detached from the Enterprise and Investi- 
gator along the shores of that vicinity during the only 
period of the season in which traveling is practicable 
in those regions. 

"It is probable, therefore, that during their first 
summer, which was remarkably favorable for the navi- 
gation of those seas, they have been enabled (in obedi- 
ence to their orders) to push the ships to the westward 
of Banks' land, and have there become involved in the 
heavy pack of ice which was observed from Melville 
Island always to be setting past its westernmost point 
in a southeast direction, and from which pack they may 
not have been able to extricate their ships. 

" From such a jDOsition, retreat to the eastward would 
be next to impossible, while the journey to the Mac- 
kenzie River, of comparatively easy accomplishment, 
ti'getlier with Sir John Franklin's knowledge of the 
resources in the way and of its practicability, would 
strengthen the belief that this measure will have been 
adopted by them during the last spring. 

"If this be assumed as the present position of the 
Erebus and Terror, it would manifestly be far more 
easy and safe to afford them relief by means of an ex- 
pedition entering Behring's Straits, than from any other 
direction, as it would not be necessary for the ships to 
depart so far from the coast of North America as to 
preclude their keeping up a regular communication 
with the Russian settlements on the River Colville, or 

16 



242 PKOGKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

those of the Hudson's Bay Company near the mouth 
of the Mackenzie, while the whole space between any 
position in which the ships might winter, and Banks' * 
Land could be thoroughly examined by traveling par- 
ties early in the spring, or by boats or steam launches 
at a more advanced period of the following season." 

Mr. W. Snow, in a letter from New York, dated 7th 
of January, 1850, suggests a plan for a well organized 
expedition of as many men as could be fitted out from 
private funds. " For instance, let a party of 100 picked 
men, well disciplined and officered, as on board a ship, 
and accompanied with all the necessary food, scientific 
instruments, and every thing useful on such expeditions, 
proceed immediately, by the shortest and most avail- 
able routes, to the lands in the neighborhood of the un 
explored regions. If possible, I would suggest thai 
they should proceed first to Moose Fort, on the south 
ern part of Hudson's Bay, and thence by small craft 
to Chesterfield Inlet, or otherwise by land reach that 
quarter, so as to arrive there at the opening of summer. 
From this neighborhood let the party, minus ten men, 
be divided into three se]3arate detachments, each with 
specific instructions to extend their researches in a 
northerly and northwesterly direction. The western- 
most party to proceed as near as j)ossible in a direct 
course to the easternmost limits of discovery yet made 
from Behring's Straits, and on no account to deviate 
from that course on the western side of it, b'jf, if ne- 
cessary, to tlie eastward. Let the central party shape a 
course as near as possible to the position of the Mag- 
netic Pole ; and the easternmost division direct to 
Prince Regent Inlet, or the westernmost pj/nt of dis 
covery from the east, and not to deviate from tiiat course 
easterly. Let each of these detachments be formed 
again into three divisions, each division thii.«* consisting 
of ten men. Let the first division of each detachment 
pioneer the way, followed on the same rrack by tht 
second and the tliird, at stated intervals of time. Or» 
the route, let the pioneers, at every spot necessary, lea^-t 
distinguishing marks to denote the ^vay^ and also ^' 



OPINIONS AND Suggestions. 243 

give information to either of the other two principa. 
detachments as may by chance fall into their track 
To second the efforts of the three detachments, let con 
stant succors and other assistance be forwarded b}' 
way of Moose Fort, and through the ten men left at 
Chesterfield Inlet ; and should the object for which 
such an expedition was framed be happily accom- 
plished by the return of the lost voyagers, let messen- 
gers be forwarded with the news, as was done with 
Captain Back, in the case of Captain Ross. Let each 
of the extreme detachments, upon arriving at their re- 
spective destinations, and upon being joined by the 
whole of their body, proceed to form plans for uniting 
with the central party, and ascertaining the results 
already obtained by each by sending parties in that 
direction. Also, let a chosen number be sent out from 
each detachment as exploring parties, wherever deemed 
requisite ; and let no effort be wanted to make a search 
in every direction where there is a possibility of its 
proving successful. 

" If a public and more extensive expedition be set on 
foot, I would most respectfully draw attention to the 
following suggestions : — Let a land expedition be formed 
upon a similar plan, and with the same number of men, 
say 300 or more, as those fitted out for sea. Let this 
expedition be formed into three great divisions ; the one 
proceeding by the Athabasca to the Great Slave Lake, 
and following out Captain Back's discoveries ; the 
second, through the Churchill district ; or, with the 
tliird, according to the plan laid out for a private expe 
dition alone ; only keeping the whole of their forces as 
much as possible bearing upon the points where success 
may be most likely attainable. 

" Each of these three great divisions to be subdivided 
and arranged also as in the former case. The expense 
of an expedition of this kind, with all the necessary 
outlay for provisions, &c., I do not think would be more 
than half what the same would cost if sent by sea ; but 
of this I am not a competent judge, having no definite 
means to make a comparison. But there is yet another, 



2M PXiOQRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

and, I cannot help conceiving, a more easy way of ol> 
viating ail difficulty on this point, and of reducing the 
expense considerably. 

" It must be evident that the present position of the 
arctic voyagers is not very accessible, either by land 
or sea, else the distinguished leader at the head of the 
expedition would long ere this have tracked a route 
whereby the whole party, or at least some of them 
could return. 

"In such a case, therefore, the only waj to reach 
them is by, if I may use the expression, /brc^'^^ an ex- 
pedition on toward them ; I mean, by keeping it con- 
stantly upheld and pushing onward. There may be, 
and indeed there are, very great difficulties, and diffi- 
culties of such a nature that, I believe, they would 
themselves cause another great difficulty in the procur- 
ing of men. But, if I might make another bold sug- 
gestion, I would respectfully ask our government at 
home, why not employ picked men from convicted 
criminals, as is done in exploring expeditions in Aus- 
tralia ? Inducements might be held out to them ; and 
by proper care they would be made most serviceable 
auxiliaries. Generally speaking, men convicted of 
offenses are men possessed of almost inexhaustible 
mental resources ; and such men are the men who, 
with physical powers of endurance, are precisely those 
required. But this I speak of, merely, if sufficient free 
men could not be found, and if economy is studied." 

Mr. John McLean, who has been twenty-five years a 
partner and officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, and 
has published an interesting narrative of his adven- 
tures and experience, writing to Lady Franklin from 
Canada West, in January, 1850, suggests the following 
very excellent plan as likely to produce some intelli- 
gence, if not to lead to a discovery of the party. 

" Let a small schooner of some thirty or forty tons 
burden, built with a view to draw as little water as 
possible, and as strong as wood and iron could make 
her, be dispatclied from England in company with the 
Hudson's Bay ships. This vessel would, immediatolv 



OPINIONS AND SUGtGESTIONS. 245 

on arriving at York Factory, proceed to the Strait 
termed Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome, which divides 
Southampton Island from the main-land ; then direct 
her com'se to Wager River, and proceed onward nntil 
interrupted by insurmountable obstacles. The party 
being safely landed, I would recommend their remain- 
ing stationary until winter traveling became practicable, 
when they should set out for the shores of the Arctic 
Sea, which, by a reference to ArroTrsmith's map, ap- 
pears to be only some sixty or seventy miles distant ; 
then dividing in two parties or divisions, the one would 
proceed east, the other west ; and I think means could 
be devised of exploring 250 or 300 miles in either 
direction ; and here a very important question pre- 
sents itself, — how and by what means is this enterprise 
to be accomplished ? 

" In the first place, the services of Esquimaux would 
be indispensable, for the twofold reason, that no reliable 
information can be obtained from the natives without 
their aid, and that they alone properly understand the 
art of preparing snow-houses, or ' igloes,' for winter en- 
campment, the only lodging which the desolate wastes 
of the arctic regions afford. Esquimaux understanding 
the English language sufficiently well to answer our 
purpose, frequent the Hudson's Bay Company's post 
in Labrador, some of whom might be induced, (I should 
fain hope,) to engage for the expedition , or probably 
the ' half-breed ' natives might do so more readily than 
the aborigines. They should, if possible, be strong, 
active men, and good marksmen, and not less than four 
in number. Failing in the attempt to procure the na- 
tives of Labrador, then I should think Esquimaux 
might be obtained at Churchill, in Hudson's Bay ; the 
two who accompanied Sir John in his first land expedi- 
tion were from this quarter." 

An expedition of this kind is to be sent out by Lady 
Franklin this spring under the charge of Mr. Kennedy. 
There are various ways of accomplishing this object, 
the choice of which must mainly depend on the views 
and wishes of the officer who may undertake the com 



246 PEOGRESS Ot ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

mand. Besides the northern route, or that by Regent 
Inlet, it is possible to reach Sir James Ross and Simp- 
son's Straits from the south, entering Hudson's Bay. 
and passing up the Welcome to Rae Isthmus, or again 
by entering Chesterfield or Wager Inlet, and gaining 
the coast by Back's or the Great Fish River. 

By either of these routes a great part of the explora- 
tion must be made in boats or on foot. In every case 
the main points to be searched are James Ross's Strait 
and Simpson's Strait, if indeed there be a passage in 
that direction, as laid down in Sir John Franklin's charts, 
though contradicted by Mr. Rae, and considered still 
doubtful by some arctic navigators. 

The following extract from the Geographical Jour- 
nal shows the opinion of Franklin upon the search of 
this quarter. Dr. Richardson says,"^ — " No better plan 
can be proposed than the one suggested by Sir John 
Franklin, of sending a vessel to Wager River, and car- 
rying on the survey from thence in boats." "^ 

Sir John Franklin observes,f — '' The Doctor alludes 
in his letter to some propositions which he knew I had 
made in the year 1828, at the command of his present 
Majesty, ^William I Y.,) on the same subject, and partic- 
ularly to th<; suggestion as to proceeding from Repulse 
or Wager Bay. * * * A recent careful reading of all 
the narratives connected with the surveys of the Wager 
and Repulse Bays, and of Sir Edward Parry's Yoyage, 
together with the information obtained from the Esqui- 
maux by Sir Edward Parry, Sir John Ross, and Cap- 
tain Back, confirm me in opinion that a successful de- 
lineation of the coast east of Point Turnagain to the 
Strait of the Fury and Hecla, would be best attained 
by an expedition proceeding from Wager Bay, the 
northern parts of which cannot, I think, be farther dis- 
tant than forty miles from the sea, if the information 
received by the above-mentioned officers can be de- 
j)ended on." 

Dr. McCormick particularly draws attention to Jones 
and Smith's Sounds, recommending a careful examiu 

* Journal of Geographical Socioly. vol. vi. p, 40. t Ibid. p. 43. 



OI'LNIOKS AND 8UGOESTIONS. 247 

ation of these to their probable termination in tlie 
Polar Sea : — 

" Jones' Sound, with the Wellington Channel on the 
west, may be found to form an island of the land called 
' North Devon.' All prominent positions on both sides 
of these Sounds should be searched for flag staves and 
piles of stones, under whcih copper cylinders or bot- 
tles may have been deposited, containing accounts of 
the proceedings of the missing expedition ; and if suc- 
cessful in getting upon its track, a clue would be ob- 
tained to the fate of our gallant countrymen." 

The Wellington Channel he considers affords one of 
the best chances of crossing the track of the missing 
expedition. 

To carry out this plan efficiently, he recommended 
that a boat should be dropped, by the ship conveying 
the searching party out, at the entrance to the Welling- 
ton Channel in Barrow's Strait ; from this point one or 
both sides of that channel and the northern shores of 
the Parry Islands might be explored as far west as the 
season would permit of. But should the ship be en- 
abled to look into Jones' Sound, on her way to Lancas- 
ter Sound, and find that opening free from ice, an 
attempt might be made by the Boat Expedition to push 
tlirough it into the Wellington Channel. In the event, 
however, of its proving to be merely an inlet, which a 
short delay would be sufficient to decide, the ship might 
perhaps be in readiness to pick up the boat on its re- 
turn, for conveyance to its ultimate destination through 
Lancaster Sound ; or as a precaution against any un- 
foreseen separation from the ship, a depot of provisions 
should be left at the entrance to Jones' Sound for the 
boat to complete its supplies from, after accomplishing 
the exploration of this inlet, and to afford the means, 
if compelled from an advanced period of the season 
or other adverse circumstances, of reaching some place 
of refuge, either on board a whaler or some one of the 
depots of provisions on the southern shores of Barrow's 
Strait. 



24-8 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Mr. Penny, in charge of the Lady Franklin, before 
ailing, observed : — 

" It an early passage be obtained, I would examine 
Tones' Sound, as I have generally found in all my early 
^/oyages clear water at the mouth of that sound, and 
^bere is a probability that an earlier passage by this 
route might be found into Wellington Strait, which out- 
iet ought by all means to be thoroughly examined at 
the earliest opportunity, since, if Sir J. Franklin had 
taken that route, with the hope of finding a passage 
westward, to the north of the Parry and Melville 
Islands, he may be beyond the power of helping him- 
self 'No trace of the expedition, or practical commu- 
nication with Wellington Strait, being obtained in this 
quarter, I would proceed in time to take advantage of 
the first opening of the ice in Lancaster Sound, with 
the view of proceeding to the west and entering Wel- 
lington Strait, or, if this should not be practicable, of 
proceeding farther westward to Cape Walker, and be- 
yond, on one or other of which places Sir John Frank- 
lin will probably have left some notices of his course." 

The government has seen the urgent necessity of 
causing the Wellington Channel to be carefully exam- 
ined ; imperative orders were sent to Sir James Ross 
to search it, but he was drifted out of Barrow's Strait 
against his will, before he received those orders by the 
North Star. 

I have already stated that Sir John Franklin's in- 
structions directed him to try the first favorable open- 
ing to the southwest after passing Cape Walker ; and 
failing in that, to try the Wellington Channel. Every 
officer in the British Service, as a matter of course, 
follows his instructions, as far as they are compatible 
with the exigencies of the case, be it what it may, noi 
ever deviates from them without good and justifiable 
cause. If, then, Sir John Franklin failed in finding an 
opening to the southwest of Cape Walker it is reason- 
able to suppose he obeyed his instructions, and tried 
the Wellington Channel. Tlie second probability in 
favor of this locality is, that Sir John Franklin ex- 



01»INIONS AND StJGGESTlONS. ^4:9 

pressed o many of his friends a favorable opinion of 
the Wellington Channel, and, which is of far more 
consequence, intimated his opinion officially, and be- 
fore the expedition was determined upon, that this 
strait seemed to offer the best chance of success. 

Moreover, Capt. Fitzjames, his immediate second in 
command in the Erebus, was strongly in favor of the 
Wellington Channel, and always so expressed himself. 
See his letter, before quoted, to Sir John Barrow, p. 203. 

Who can doubt that the opinion of Capt. Fitzrjames, 
a man of superior mind, beloved by all who knew him, 
and in the service " the observed of all observers," would 
have great weight with Sir John Franklin, even if Sir 
John had not been himself predisposed to listen to him. 
What adds confirmation to theje views is, that in 1840, 
a few years prior to the starting of the expedition. Col. 
Sabine published the deeply interesxing " ]^arrative of 
Baron Wrangel's Expedition to the Polar Sea, under- 
taken between the years 1820 and 1823," and in his pre- 
face the translator points to the Wellington Channel as 
the most likely course for the successful accomplishment 
of the northwest passage. "Setting aside," he says, 
" the possibility of the existence of unknown land, the 
probability of an open sea existing to the north of the 
r arry islands, and communicating with Behring Strait, 
appears to rest on strict analogical reasoning." And 
again he adds, " all the attempts to effect the northwest 
passage, since Barrow's Strait was first passed in 1819, 
have consisted in an endeavor to force a vessel by one 
route or another throiigh this land-locked and ice-encum- 
bered portion of the Polar Ocean." 

No examination has made known what may be the 
state of the sea to the north of the Parry Islands ; 
whether pimilar impediments may there present them- 
selves to navigation, or whether a sea may not there 
exist offering no difficulties whatever of the kind, as M. 
Yon Wrangel has shown to be the case to the north of 
the Siberian Islands, and as by strict analogy we should 
be justified in expecting. 

Colonel Sabine is an officer of great scientific expo 



250 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOrfcRY. 

rience, and from his having made several polar voyages, 
he has devoted great attention to all that relates to that 
Muarter. He was in constant communication with Sir 
John Franklin when the expedition was fitting out, and 
it is but reasonable to suppose that he would be some- 
what guided by his opinion. 

We have, then, the opinions of Franklin himself, 
Colonel Sabine, and Captain Fitzjames, all bearing on 
this point, and we must remember that Parry, who dis- 
covered and named this channel, saw nothing when 
passing and re-passing it, but a clear open sea to the 
northward. 

Lieut. S. Osborn, in a paper dated the 4:th of January, 
1850, makes the following suggestions : — 

" General opinion places the lost expedition to the 
west of Cape Walker, and south of the latitude of Mel- 
ville Island. The distance from Cape Bathurst to Banks' 
Land is only 301 miles, and on reference to a chart it 
will be seen that nowhere else does the American conti- 
nent approach so near to the supposed position of Frank- 
lin's expedition. 

" Banks' Land bears from Cape Bathurst N. 41° 49', 
E. 302 miles, and there is reason to believe that in the 
summer season a portion of this distance may be trav- 
ersed in boats. 

"Dr. Richardson confirms previous reports of the ice 
being light on the coast east of the Mackenzie River lo 
< 'ape Bathurst, and informs us that the Esquimaux had 
s*ien ' no ice to seaward for two moons.' 

" Every mile traversed northward by a party from 
Cape Bathurst would be over that unknown space in 
which traces of Franklin may be expected. It is advis- 
able that such a second party be dispatched from Cape 
] bathurst, in order that the prosecution of Dr. Rae's 
examination of tlie supposed channel between Wollas- 
ton and Yictoria Lands may in no way be interfered 
with, by his attention being called to the westward." 

In March, 1848, the Admiralty announced their inten- 
tion of rewarding the crews of any whaling ships that 
brought accurate information of the missing expedition, 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIOJNS. 251 

with the sum of 100 guineas or more, according to cir- 
cumstances. Lady Franklin also about the same time 
offered rewards of 2000^. and 3000Z., to be distributed 
among the owner, officers, and crew discovering and 
affording relief to her husband, or making extraordi- 
nary exertions for the above object, and, if required, 
bringing Sir John Franklin and his party to England. 

In March, 1850, the following further rewards were 
offered by the British government to persons of any 
country : — 

1st. To any party or person who in the judgment of 
the Board of Admiralty, shall discover and effectually ^ 

relieve the crews of H. M. ships Erebus and Terror, the 
sum of 20,000^., or, 

2d. To any party or parties, &c., who shall discover 
and effectually relieve any portion of the crews, or shall 
convey such intelligence as shall lead to the relief of 
any of the crew, the sum of 10,000?. 

3d. To any party or parties who shall by virtue of 
his or their efforts, first succeed in ascertaining their 
fate, 10,000Z. 

In a dispatch from Sir George Simpson to Mr. Eae, 
dated Lachine, the 21st of January, 1850, he says : — 

"If they be still alive, I feel satisfied that every effort 
it may be in the power of man to make to succor them 
will be exerted by yourself and the Company's officers 
in Mackenzie River ; but should your late search have 
unfortunately ended in disappointment, it is the desire 
of the Company that you renew your explorations next 
summer, if possible. 

" By the annexed correspondence you will observe that 
the opinion in England appears to be that our explora- 
tions ought to be more particularly directed to that por- 
tion of the ISTorthern Sea lying between Cape Walke 
on the east, Melville Island and Banks' Land to the 
north, and the continental shore or the Victoria Islands 
to the south. 

" As these limits are believed to embrace the course 
that would have been pursued by Sir John Franklin, 
Cape Walker being one of the points he was particu- 



252 PEOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

larly instructed to make for, you will therefore be 
pleased, immediately on the receipt of this letter, to fit 
out another exploring party, to proceed in the direction 
above indicated, but varying the route that may have 
been followed last summer, which party, besides their 
own examination of the coast and islands, should be 
instructed to offer liberal rewards to the Esquimaux to 
search for some vestiges of the missing expedition, and 
similar rewards should be offered to the Indians inhab 
iting near the coast and Peel's River, and the half-bred 
hunters of Mackenzie River, the latter being, perhaps, 
more energetic than the former ; assuring them that 
whoever may procm^e authentic intelligence will be 
largely rewarded. 

" Simultaneously with the expedition to proceed to- 
ward Cape Walker, one or two small parties should be 
dispatched to the westward of the Mackenzie, in the 
direction of Point Barrow, one of which might pass over 
to the Youcon River, and descending that stream to the 
sea, carry on their explorations in that quarter, while 
the other, going down the Mackenzie, might trace the 
coast thence toward the Youcon. And these parties 
must also be instructed to offer rewards to the natives 
to prosecute the search in all directions. 

" By these means there is reason to believe that in 
the course of one year so minute a search may be made 
of the coast and the islands, that in the event of the 
expedition having passed in that direction, some trace 
of their progress would certainly be discovered. 

" From your experience in arctic discovery, and ]je- 
culiar qualifications for such an undertaking, I am in 
hopes you may be enabled yourself to assume the 
command of the party to proceed to the northward ; 
and, as leaders of the two parties to explore the coast 
to the westward of the Mackenzie, you will have to 
select such officers of the Company's service within 
the district as may appear best qualified for the duty • 
Mr. Murray, I think, would be a very fit man for ono 
of the leaders, and if one party be sent by way of the 
Youcon, he might take charge of it. In the event of 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 253 

your going on this expedition, you will be pleased to 
make over the charge of the district to Chief Trader 
Bell during your absence. 

"In case you may be short-handed, I have by this 
conveyance instructed Chief Factor Ballenden to en- 
gage in Red River ten choice men, accustomed to boat- 
ing, and well fitted for such a duty as will be required 
of them ; and if there be a chance of their reaching 
Mackenzie River, or even Athabasca, before the break- 
ing up of the ice, to forward them immediately. 

" Should the season, however, be too far advanced 
to enable them to accomplish the journey by winter 
traveling, Mr. Ballenden is directed to increase the 
party to fourteen men, with a guide to be dispatched 
from Red River immediately after the opening of the 
navigation, in two boats, laden with provisions and 
Eour, and a few bales of clothing, in order to meet, in 
some degree, the heavy drain that will be occasioned 
on our resources in provisions and necessary supplies 
m Mackenzie River. The leader of this party from 
Red River may, perhaps, be qualified, to act as the 
conductor of one of the parties to examine the coast 
to the westward." 

On the 5th of February, 1850, another consultation 
took place at the Admiralty among those officers most 
experienced in these matters, and their opinions in 
writing were solicited. It is important, therefore, to 
submit these as fully as possible to the consideration 
of the reader. 

The first is the report of the hydrographer of the 
Admiralty, dated the 29th of January, 1850 : — 

" Memorandum hy Mear-Adm^iral Sir Francis Beau 

fort, K. G. B. 

"The Behring's Strait expedition being at length 
lairly off, it appears to me to be a duty to submit to 
fcheir Lordships that no time should now be lost in 
equipping another set of vessels to renew the search 
on the opposite side, through Baffin's Bay ; and this 
being the fifth year that the Erebus and Terror have 



254 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

been al)seiit, and probabl}^ reduced to only casual sup- 
plies of food and fuel, it may be assumed that this 
search should be so complete and effectual as to leave 
unexamined no place in which, by any of the supposi 
tions that have been put forward, it is at all likely they 
may be found. 

" Sir John Franklin is not a man to treat his orders 
with levity, and therefore his first attempt was un- 
doubtedly made in the direction of Melville Island, and 
not to the westward. If foiled in that attempt, he 
naturally hauled to the southward, and using Banks' 
Land as a barrier against the northern ice, he would 
try to make westing under its lee. Thirdly, if both of 
these roads were found closed against his advance, he 
[)erhaps availed himself of one of the four passages 
between the Parry Islands, including the Wellington 
Channel. Or, lastly, he may have returned to Baffin's 
Bay and taken the inviting opening of Jones' Sound. 

" All those four tracks must therefore be diligently 
examined before the search can be called complete, 
and the only method of rendering that examination 
prompt and efficient will be through the medium of 
steam ; while only useless expense and reiterated dis 
appointment will attend the best efforts of sailing ves- 
sels, leaving the lingering survivors of the lost ships, 
as well as their relatives in England, in equal despair. 
Had Sir James Eoss been in a steam vessel, he would 
not have been surrounded with ice and swept out of 
the Strait, but by shooting under the protection of Leo- 
pold Island, he would have waited there till that fatal 
neld had passed to the eastward, and he then would 
have found a perfectly open sea np to Melville Island. 

"The best application of steam to ice-going vesselt 
would be Ericson's screw ; but the screw or paddles of 
any of our moderate-sized vessels might be made tc 
elevate with lacility. Vessels so fitted would not re- 
quire to be fortified in an extraordinary degree, not 
more than common whalers. From the log-like quies- 
cence with which a sailing vessel must await the crush 
uf two approaching floes, they must be as strong a« 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONB. 255 

wood and iron can make them ; but the steamer slips 
out of the reach of the collision, waits till the shock is 
past, and then profiting by their mutual recoil, darts 
at once through the transient opening. 

"Two such vessels, and each of them attended by 
two tenders laden with coals and provisions, would be 
sufiicient for the main lines of search. Every promi 
nent point of land where notices might have been left 
would be visited, details of their own proceedings would 
be deposited, and each of the tenders would be left in 
proper positions, as points of rendezvous on which to 
fall back. 

"Besides these two branches of the expedition, it 
would be well to allow the whaling captain (Penny,) to 
carry out his proposed undertaking. His local knowl- 
edge, his thorough acquaintance with all the mysteries 
of the ice navigation, and his well known skill and 
resources, seem to point him out as a most valuable 
auxiliary. 

" But whatever vessels may be chosen for this service, 
I would beseech their lordships to expedite them ; all 
our attempts have been deferred too long ; and there is 
now reason to believe that very early in the season, in 
May or even in April, Baffin's Bay may be crossed be- 
* fore the accumulated ice of winter spreads over its 
surface. If they arrive rather too soon, they may very 
advantageously await the proper moment in some of 
the Greenland harbors, preparing themselves for the 
coming efforts and struggles, and procuring Esquimaux 
interpreters. 

" In order to press every resource into the service of 
this noble enterprise, the vessels should be extensively 
furnished with means for blasting and splitting the ice, 
perhaps circular saws might be adapted to the steamers, 
a launch to each party, with a small rotary engine, 
Bledges for the shore, and light boats with sledge bear- 
ings for broken ice-fields, balloons for the distribution 
of advertisements, and kites for the explosion of lofty 
fire-balls. And, lastly, they should have vigorous and 
numerous crews, so that when detachments are away, 



256 PROQREBS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

other operations should not be intermitted for want of 
physical strength. 

" As the council of the Royal Society, some time ago, 
thought proper to remind their lordships of the propriety 
of instituting this search, it would be lair now to call on 
that learned body for all the advice and suggestions, 
that science and philosophy can contribute toward the 
accomplishment of the great object on which the eyes 
of all England and indeed of all the world, are now 
entirely fixed." 

Captain Beechey, writing to the Secretary of the Ad- 
miralty, 7th of February, 1850, says : — 

" The urgent nature of the case alone can justify the 
use of ordinary steamers in an icy sea, and great pru- 
dence and judgment will be required on the part of 
their commanders, to avoid being disabled by collision 
and pressure. 

" I would also add, as an exception, that I think Leo- 
pold Island and Cape Walker, if possible, should both 
be examined, prior to any attempt being made to pene- 
trate in other directions from Barrow's Strait, and that 
the bottom of Regent Inlet, about the Pelly Islands, 
should not be left unexamined. In the memorandum 
submitted to their lordships on the 17th of January, 
1849, this quarter was considered of importance ; and 
I am still of opinion, that, had Sir John Franklin aban- 
doned his vessels near the coast of America, and much 
short of the Mackenzie River, he would have preferred 
the probability of retaining the use of his boats until 
he found relief in Barrow's Strait, to risking an over- 
land journey via the before-mentioned river ; it must 
1)0 remembered, that at the time he sailed. Sir George 
Back's discovery had rendered it very probable that 
Boothia was an island. 

" An objection to the necessity of this search seems 
to be, that had Sir John Franklin taken that route, he 
would have reached Fury Beach already. However, I 
cannot but think there will yet be found some good 
grounds for the Esquimaux sketch, and that their mean- 
ing has been misunderstood ; and as Mr. M'Cormick in 



OPINIONS OF ABCTIC "'OYAGERS. 257 

an enterprising person, whose name has already been 
before their lordships, I would submit, whether a boat 
expedition from Leopold Depot, under his direction, 
would not satisfactorily set at rest all inquiry upon this, 
now the only quarter unjwovided for." 

Captain Sir W. E. Parry states : — 

"I am decidedly of opinion that the main search 
should be renewed in the direction of Melville Island 
and Banks' Land, including as a part of the plan the 
thorough examination of Wellington Strait and of the 
other similar openings between the islands of the group 
bearing my name. I entertain a growing conviction of 
the probability of the missing ships, or at least a con- 
siderable portion of the crews, being shut up at Mel 
ville Island, Banks' Land, or in that neighborhood, 
agreeing as I do with Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beau- 
fort, in his report read yesterday to the Board that ' Sir 
John Franklin is not a man to treat his orders with 
levity,' which he would be justly chargeable with doing 
if he attached greater weight to any notions he might 
personally entertain than to the Admiralty instructions, 
which he well knew to be founded on the experience of 
former attempts, and on the best information which 
could then be obtained on the subject. For these rea- 
sons I can scarcely doubt that he would employ at least 
two seasons, those of 184:5 and 1846, in an unremitting 
attempt to penetrate directly westward or south westward 
to Behring's Strait. 

" Supposing this conjecture to be correct, nothing can 
be more likely than that Sir John Franklin's ships, hav- 
ing penetrated in seasons of ordinary temperature a 
considerable distance in that direction, have been locked 
up by successive seasons of extraordinary rigor, thus 
baffling the efforts of their weakened crews to escape 
from the ice in either of the two directions by Behring's 
or Barrow's Straits. 

" And here I cannot but add, that my own conviction 
of this probability — for it is only with probabilities 
that we have to deal — has been greatly strengthened 
by a letter I have lately received from Col. Sabine, of 



25S PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

the Royal Artillery, of which I had the honor to sub 
mit a copy to Sir Francis Baring. Colonel Sabine 
having accompanied two successive expeditions to Baf- 
fin's Bay, including that under my command which 
reached Melville Island, I consider his views to be well 
worthy of their lordships' attention on this part of the 
subject. 

"It must be admitted, however, that considerable 
weight is due to the conjecture which has been offered 
by persons capable of forming a sound judgment, that 
having failed, as I did, in the attempt to penetrate west- 
ward. Sir John Franklin might deem it prudent to re- 
trace his steps, and was enabled to do so, in order to try 
a more northern route, either through Wellington Strait 
or some other of those openings between the Parry 
Islands to which I have already referred. And this idea 
receives no small importance from the fact, (said to be 
beyond a doubt,) of Sir John Franklin having, before 
his departure, expressed such an intention in case of 
failing to the westward. 

"I cannot, therefore, consider the intended search to 
be complete without making the examination of Wel- 
lington Strait and its adjacent openings a distinct part 
of the plan, to be performed by one portion of the 
vessels which I shall presently propose for the main 
expedition. 

"Much stress has likewise been laid, and I think not 
altogether without reason, on the propriety of search- 
ing Jones' and Smith's Sounds in the northwest parts of 
Baffin's Bay. Considerable interest has lately been at- 
tached to Jones' Sound, from the fact of its having been 
recently navigated by at least one enterprising whaler, 
and found to be of great width, free from ice, with a 
swell from the westward, and having no land visible from 
the mast-head in that direction. It seems more than 
probable, therefore, that it may be found to communi- 
cate with Wellington Strait ; so that if Sir John Frank- 
lin's ships have been detained anywhere to the north- 
ward of the Parry Islands, it would be by Jones' Sound 
that he woukl probably endeavor to effect his escape, 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONte. 259 

rather than by the less direct route of Barrow's Strait. 
I do not myself attach much importance to the idea of 
Sir John Franklin having so far retraced his steps as 
to come back through Lancaster Sound, and recom- 
mence his enterprise by entering Jones' Sound ; but 
the possibility of his attempting his escape through 
this fine opening, and the report, (though somewhat 
vague,) of a cairn of stones seen by one of the whalers 
on a headland within it, seems to me to render it highly 
expedient to set this question at rest by a search in 
this direction, including the examination of Smith's 
Sound also." 

I beg to cite next an extract from the letter of Dr. Sir 
John Kichardson to the Secretary of the Admiralty : — 

^'Haslar Hospital^ Gosport^ ^th of February^ 1850. 

" With respect to the direction in which a successful 
search may be predicated with the most confidence, 
very various opinions have been put forth ; some have 
supposed either that the ships were lost before reaching 
Lancaster Sound, or that Sir John Franklin, finding an 
impassable barrier of ice in the entrance of Lancaster 
Sound, may have sought for a passage through Jones' 
Sound. I do not feel inclined to give much weight to 
either conjecture. When we consider the strength of 
the Erebus and Terror, calculated to resist the strongest 
pressure to which ships navigating Baffin's Bay have 
been known to be subject, in conjunction with the fact 
that, of the many whalers which have been crushed or 
abandoned since the commencement of the fishery, the 
crews, or at least the greater part of them, have, in 
almost every case, succeeded in reaching other ships, or 
the Danish settlements, we cannot believe that the two 
discovery ships, which were seen on the edge of the 
middle ice so early as the 26th of July, can have been 
so suddenly and totally overwhelmed as to preclude 
some one of the intelligent officers, whose minds were 
prepared for every emergency, with their select crews 
of men, experienced in the ice, from placing a boat on 
the ice or water, and thus carrying intelligence of the 



200 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOV:eRl?. 

disaster to one of the many whalers whicn remained foi 
two months after that date in those seas, and this in the 
absence of any unusual catastrophe among the fishing 
vessels that season. 

" With respect to Jones' Sound, it is admitted by all 
who are intimately acquainted with Sir John Franklin, 
that his first endeavor would be to act up to the letter 
of his instructions, and that therefore he would not 
lightly abandon the attempt to pass Lancaster Sound. 
From the logs of the whalers year after year, we learn 
that when once they have succeeded in rounding the 
middle ice, they enter Lancaster Sound with facility : 
had Sir John Franklin, then, gained that Sound, and 
from the premises we appear to be fully justified in 
concluding that he did so, and had he afterward en- 
countered a compact field of ice, barring Barrow's 
Strait and Wellington Sound, he would then, after be- 
ing convinced that he would lose the season in attempt 
ing to bore through it, have borne up for Jones' Sound, 
but not until he had erected a conspicuous landmark, 
and lodged a memorandum of his reason for deviating 
from his instructions. 

"The absence of such a signal-post in Lancaster 
Sound is an argument against the expedition having 
turned back from thence, and is, on the other hand, a 
strong support to the suspicion that Barrow's Strait was 
as open in 1845 as when Sir W. E. Parry first passed 
it in 1819 ; that, such being the case. Sir John Frank- 
lin, without delay and without landing, pushed on to 
Cape Walker, and that, subsequently, in endeavoring 
to penetrate to the southwest, he became involved in 
the drift ice, which, there is reason to believe, urged 
by the prevailing winds and the set of the flood tides, 
is carried toward Coronation Gulf, through channels 
more or less intricate. Should he have found no open- 
ing at Cape Walker, he would, of course, have sought 
one further to the west ; or, finding the southerly and 
westerly opening blocked by ice, he might have tried a 
northern passage. 

" In either case, the plan of search propounded by 



Ol^miONS AKD SXTQG^ESTlONS. ^61 

Sir Francis Beaufort seems to provide against every 
contingency, especially when taken in conjunction with 
Captain Collinson's expedition, via Behring's Strait, 
and the boat parties from the Mackenzie. 

" I do not venture to offer an opinion on the strength 
ar equipment of the vessels to be employed, or other 
merely nautical questions, farther than by remarking, 
that the use of the small vessels, which forms part of 
Sir Francis Beaufort's scheme, is supported by tt^ suc- 
cess of the early navigators with their very small craft, 
and the late gallant exploit of Mr. Shedden, in round- 
ing Icy Cape and Point Barrow, in the Nancy Dawson 
yacht. 

" And further, with respect to the comparative merits 
of the paddles and screw in the arctic seas, I beg leave 
merely to observe, that as long as the screw is immersed 
in water it will continue to act, irrespective of the tern 
perature of the air ; but when, as occurs late in the 
autumn, the atmosphere is suddenly cooled below the 
freezing point of sea water, by a northerly gale, while 
the sea itself remains warmer, the paddles will be 
speedily clogged by ice accumulating on the floats as 
they rise through the air in every revolution. An in- 
cident recorded by Sir James C. Koss, furnishes a strik- 
ing illustration of the powerful action of a cold wind ; 
I allude to a fish having been thrown up by the spray 
against the bows of the Terror, and firmly frozen there, 
during a gale in a high southerly latitude. Moreover, 
even with the aid of a ready contrivance for topping 
the paddles, the flatness or hollowness of the sides of a 
paddle steamer renders her less fit for sustaining pres- 
sure ; the machinery is more in the way of oblique 
beams for strengthening, and she is less efficient as a 
sailing vessel when the steam is let off." 

MemoranduTn inclosed in Dt, IPCormicJc^s Letter 
of the \st of January^ 1850. 

" In the month of April last, I laid before my Lords 
Commissioners of the Admiralty a plan of search for 
the missing expedition under the command of Captain 



262 pRoaREss of arctic discovery. 

Sir John Franklin, by means of a boat expedition tip 
Jones' and Smith's Sounds, volunteering myself to 
conduct it. 

" In that plan I stated the reasons which had induced 
me to direct my attention more especially to the open- 
ings at the head of Baffin's Bay, which, at the time 
were not included within the general scheme of search. 

"Wellington Channel, however, of all the probable 
openings into the Polar Sea, possesses the highest de- 
gree of interest, and the exploration of it is of such 
paramount importance, that I should most unquestion 
ably have comprised it within my plan of search, had 
not Her Majesty's ships Enterprise and Investigator 
been employed at the time in Barrow's Strait for the 
express purpose of examining this inlet and Cape 
"Walker, two of the most essential points of search in 
the whole track of the Erebus and Terror to the west- 
ward ; being those points at the very threshold of his 
enterprise, from which Sir John Franklin would take 
his departure from the known to the unknown, whether 
he shaped a southwesterly course from the latter, or 
attempted the passage in a higher latitude from the 
former point. 

" The return of the sea expedition from Port Leo- 
pold, and the overland one from the Mackenzie Piver, 
both alike unsuccessful in their search, leaves the fate 
of the gallant Franklin and his companions as proble- 
matical as ever ; in fact, the case stands precisely as it 
did two years ago ; the work is yet to be begun ; every 
thing remains to be accomplished. 

" In renewal of the search in the ensuing spring, 
more would be accomplished in boats than in any other 
way, not only by Behring's Strait, but from the east- 
ward. For the difficulties attendant on icy navigation 
which form so insuperable a barrier to the progress of 
ships, would be readily surmounted by boats ; by meaiiE 
of which the coast line may be closely examined foi 
cairns of stones, under which Sir John Franklin would 
most indubitably deposit memorials of his progress 
'n all prominent positions, as opportunities might offer. 



jHKions and suggestions. 263 

" The discovery of one of these mementos would, in 
a I probability, afford a clue that might lead to the res- 
cue of our enterprising countrymen, ere another and 
sixth winter close in upon them, should they be still 
in existence ; and the time has not yet arrived for aban- 
doning hope. 

"In renewing once more the offer of my services, 
which I do most cheerfully, I see no reason for chang- 
ing the opinions I entertained last spring ; subsequent 
events have only tended to confirm them. I then be- 
lieved, and I do so still, after a long and mature con- 
sideration of the subject, that Sir John Franklin's ships 
have been arrested in a high latitude, and beset in the 
heavy polar ice northward of the Parry Islands, and 
that their probable course thither has been through the 
Wellington Channel, or one of the sounds at the north- 
ern extremity of Baffin's Bay. 

" This appears to me to be the only view of the case 
that can in any way account for the entire absence of 
all tidings of them throughout so protracted a period 
of time (unless all have perished by some sudden and 
overwhelming catastrophe.) 

" Isolated as their position would be under such cir- 
cumstances, any attempt to reach the continent of 
America at such a distance would be hopeless in the 
extreme : and the mere chance of any party from the 
ships reaching the top of Baffin's Bay at the very mo- 
ment of a whaler's brief and uncertain visit would be 
attended with by far too great a risk to justify the at- 
tempt, for failure would insure inevitable destruction 
to the whole party ; therefore their onl j alternative 
would be to keep together in their ships, should no dis- 
aster have happened to them, and by husbanding their 
remaining resources, eke them out with whatever wild 
animals may come within their reach. 

" Had Sir John Franklin been able to shape a south- 
westerly course from Cape Walker, as directed by his 
instructions, the probability is, some intelligence of 
him would have reached this country ere this, (nearly 
Gve years having already elapsed since his departure 



264 PKOGKESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

from it.) Parties would have been sent out from his 
ships, either in the direction of the coast of America 
or Barrow's Strait, whichever happened to be the most 
accessible. Esquimaux would have been fallen in 
with, and tidings of the long-absent expedition have 
been obtained. 

" Failing in penetrating beyond Cape Walker, Sir 
John Franklin would have left some notice of his fu- 
ture intentions on that spot, or the nearest accessible 
one to it ; and should he then retrace his course for the 
Wellington Channel, the most probable conjecture, he 
would not pass up that inlet without depositing a fur- 
ther account of his proceedings, either on the western 
or eastern point of the entrance to it. 

" Therefore, should my proposal meet with their 
Lordships' approbation, I would most respectfully sub- 
mit, that the party I have volunteered to conduct 
should be landed at the entrance to the Wellington 
Channel, or the nearest point attainable by any ship 
that their Lordships may deem fit to employ in a fu- 
ture search, consistently with any other services that 
ship may have to perform ; and should a landing be 
effected on the eastern side, I would propose commenc- 
ing the search from Cape Riley or Beech ey Island in 
a northeiiy direction, carefully examining every re- 
markable headland and indentation of the western 
coast of North Devon for memorials of the missing ex- 
pedition ; I would then cross over the Wellington 
Channel and continue the search along the northern 
shore of Cornwallis Island, extending the exploration 
to the westward as far as the remaining portion of the 
season would permit, so as to secure the retreat of the 
party before the winter set in, returning either by the 
eastern or western side of Cornwallis Island, as cir- 
cumstances might indicate to be the most desirable at 
the time, after ascertaining the general extent and 
trending of the shores of that island. 

"As, however, it would be highly desirable that 
Jones' Sound should not be omitted in the search, more 
especially as a whalor, last season, reached its entrance 



OPmiOiSS Al^b STJGGESllOiNS. 265 ~ 

and reported it open, I would fiirlner piropose, that the 
Bhip conveying the exploring party out should look into 
this opening on her way to Lancaster Sound, if circum- 
stances permitted of her doing so early in the season ; 
and, if found to be fi-ee from ice, the attempt might be 
made by the boat expedition to push through it to the 
westward in this latitude ; and should it prove to be 
an opening into the Polar Sea, of which I think there 
can be little doubt, a great saving of time and distance 
would be accomplished. Failing in this, the ship should 
be secured in some central position in the vicinity of 
the Wellington Channel, as 3ipoint d'^appui to fall back 
upon in the search from that quarter. 

(Signed,) E. M'Cokmick, K. N. 

" Twickenham, 1st oj January, 1850." 



Outline of a Plan of an O'verland Journey to the 
Polar Sea, hy the Way of the Coppermine River, 
in Search of Sir John FranMin^s Expedition, sug- 
gested in 1847. 

" If Sir John Franklin, guided by his instructions, 
has passed through Barrow's Strait, and shaped a south- 
westerly course, from the meridian of Cape duiker, 
with the intention of gaining the northern coast of the 
continent of America, and so passing through the Dol- 
phin and Union Strait, along the shore of that conti- 
nent, to Behring's Strait; 

" His greatest risk of detention by the ice through- 
out this course would be found between the parallels of 
74° and 69° north latitude, and the meridians of 100° 
and 110° west longitude, or, in other words, that por- 
tion of the northwest passage which yet remains unex- 
plored, occupying the space between the western coast 
of Boothia on the one side, and the island or islands 
forming Banks' and Victoria Lands on the other. 

" Should the Erebus and Terror have been beset in 
the heavy drift-ice, or wrecked among it and the bro- 
ken land, which in all probability exists there while 
contending witli the prevalent westerly winds in this 
quarter ; 



2C6 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

" The Coppermine River would decidedly offer tli(3 
most direct route and nearest approach to that portion 
of the Polar Sea, and, after crossing Coronation Gulf, 
the average breadth of the Strait between the Conti 
nent and v ictoria Land is only about twenty-two miles. 

'' From this point a careful search should be com- 
menced in the direction of Banks' Land ; the interven- 
ing space between it and Victoria Land, occupying 
about five degrees, or little more than 300 miles, could, 
I think, be accomplished in one season, and a retreat to 
winter quarters effected before the winter set in. As 
the ice in the Coppermine River breaks up in June, 
the searching party ought to reach the sea by the be- 
ginning of August, which would leave two of the best 
months of the year for exploring the Polar Sea, viz ; 
August and September. 

" As it would be highly desirable that every available 
day, to the latest period of the season, should be de- 
voted to the search, I should propose wintering on the 
coast in the vicinity of the mouth of the Coppermine 
liiver, which would also afford a favorable position 
from which to recommence the search in the following 
spring, should the first season prove unsuccessfal. 

" Of course the object of such an expedition as I have 
proposed is not with the view of taking supplies to such 
a numerous party as Sir John Franklin has under his 
command ; but to find out his position, and acquaint 
liim where a depot of provisions would be stored up 
for himself and crews at my proj)osed winter quarters, 
where a party should be left to build a house, establish 
a fishery, and hunt for game, during the absence of the 
searching party. 

" To carry out this plan efiiciently, the Hudson's Bay 
Company should be requested to lend their powerful 
cooperation in furnishing guides, supplies of pemmican, 
&c., for the party on their route and at winter quarters. 
Without entering into details here, I may observe, that 
I should consider one boat, combining tlie necessary 
requisites in her construction to fit her for eitlier the 
river navigation, or J;hat of the shores of tlie Polar Sea, 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 207 

would be quite sufficient, with a crew one half sailors, 
and the other half Canadian boatmen ; the latter to be 
engaged at Montreal, for which place I would j^i'opose 
leaving England in the month of February. 

" Should such an expedition even fail in its main ob- 
ject — the discovery of the position of the missing ships 
and their crews, the long-sough t-for polar passage may 
be accomplished. 

(Signed,) R. M'Cokmick, E. N. 

« Woolwich, 1847." 



Copy of a Letter from Lieutenant Sherard shorn to 
the Lords Gommjissioners of the Admiralty. 

" Ealing^ Middlesex, ^th January, 1850. 

" My Loeds, — A second attempt to reach Sir John 
Franklin's expedition being about to be tried during ' 
tlie present year, I take the liberty of calling your at- 
tention to the inclosed proposition for an overland party 
to be dispatched to the shores of the Polar Sea, with a 
view to their traversing the short distance between Cape 
Bathurst and Banks' Land. My reasons for thus tres- 
passing on your attention are as follows ; 

" Ist. General opinion places the lost expedition to 
the west of Cape Walker, and south of the latitude of 
Melville Island. 

" The distance from Cape Bathurst to Banks' Land 
is only 301 iniles, and on reference to a chart it will be 
seen that nowhere else does the American continent 
approach so near to the supposed position of Franklin's 
expedition. 

" 2d. As a starting point. Cape Bathurst ojffers great 
advantages ; the arrival of a party sent there from 
England may be calculated upon to a day ; whereas 
the arrival of Captain Collinson in the longitude of 
Cape Barrow, or that of an eastern expedition in Lan- 
caster Sound, will depend upon many uncontrollable 
contingencies. The distance to be performed is com- 
paratively little, and the certainty of being able to fall 
back upon supplies offers great advantages. Captain 

17 



268 PfiOGKESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Collinson will have 680 miles of longitude to traverbe 
between Cape Barrow and Banks' Land. An Eastern 
Expedition, if ojjposed by the ice, (as Sir James Ross 
has been,) and unable to proceed in their vessels farther 
than Leopold Harbor, will have to journey on foot 330 
miles to reach the longitude of Banks' Land, and if 
any accident occur to their vessels, they will be in as 
critical a position as those they go to seek. 

" 3d. Banks' Land bears from Cape Bathurst N. 41° 
49' E. 302 miles, and there is reason to believe that in 
the summer season a portion of this distance may be 
traversed in boats. 

" 4th and 5th. Dr. Richardson confirms previous re- 
ports of the ice being light on the coast east of the 
Mackenzie River to Cape Bathurst, and informs us 
that the Esquimaux had seen no ice to seaward for two 
moons. 

" 6th. Every mile traversed northward by a party 
from Cape Bathurst would be over that unknown space 
in which traces of Franklin may be expected. 

" 7th. It is advisable that such a second party be 
dispatched from Cape Bathurst, in order that the pros- 
ecution of Dr. Rae's examination of the supposed chan- 
nel between Wollaston and Yictoria Lands may in no 
way be interfered with by his attention being called to 
the westward. 

"8th. The caches of provisions made at different 
points of the Mackenzie and at Cape Bathurst, would 
enable a party to push down to their sta^rting point with 
great celerity directly the River Mackenzie opens, 
which may be as early as May. 

"I would also remind your Lordships that the pro- 
posed expedition wouhl carry into execution a very im- 
portant clause in the instructions given to Sir James 
Ross ; viz : that of sending exploring parties fi'om 
Banks' Land in a southwesterly direction toward Caj)e 
Bathurst or Cape Parry. 

" In conclusion, I beg to offer my willing services to- 
ward the execution of the proposed plan ; and seeking 
it from no selfish motives, but thoroughly impressed 



OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 209 

with its feasibility, you may rest assured, my lords, 
ehould I have the honor of being sent upon this service, 
that I shall not disappoint your expectations. 
"I have, &c., 
(Signed,) " Shekard Osbokn, Lieut., R. N." 



Oopy of a Letter frorrh Colonel Sabine^ R. A.^to Gajp- 
tain Sir W. Edward Parry. 

" Castle-down Terrace.^ Hastings., 
" \^tli of January., 1850. 

" There can be little doubt, I imagine, in the miud of 
Any one who has read attentively Franklin's instruc- 
tions, and, (in reference to them,) your description of 
the state of the ice and of the navigable water in 1819 
and 1820, in the route which he was ordered to pursue; 
still less,' I think, can there be a doubt in the mind of 
any one who had the advantage of being with you in 
those years, that Franklin, (always supposing no pre- 
vious disaster,) must have made his way to the south- 
west part of Melville Island either in 1845 or 1846. It 
has been said that 1845 was an unfavorable season, and 
as the navigation of Davis' Strait and Baffin's Bay was 
new to Franklin, we may regard it as more probable 
that it may have taken him two seasons to accomplish 
what we accomplished in one. So far, I think, gaided 
by his instructions and by the experience gained in 
1819 and 1820, we may reckon pretty confidently on 
the first stage of his proceedings, and doubtless, in tiis 
progress- he would have left memorials in the ujual 
manner at places where he may have landed, some of 
which would be likely to fall in the way of a vesse 1 fol- 
lowing in his track. From the west end of Mehdlle 
Island our inferences as to his further proceedings must 
become more conjectural, being contingent on th< state 
of the ice and the existence of navigable water in the 
particular season. If he found the ocean, as we did, 
covered to the west and south, as far as the eye could 
reach from the summit of the highest hills, with ice of 
a thickness unparalleled in any other part of the Pola^ 



270 PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Sea, he would, after probably waiting through one whole 
season in the hope of some favorable change, have re- 
traced his steps, in obedience to the second part of his 
instructions, in order to seek an opening to the north 
which might conduct to a more open sea. In this case 
some memorial of the season passed by him at the 
southwest end of Melville Island, and also of his pur 
pose of retracing his steps, would doubtless have been 
left by him ; and should he subsequently have found 
an opening to the north, presenting a favorable appear- 
ance, there also, should circumstances have permitted, 
wonld a memorial have been left. 

" lie may, however, have found a more favorable 
state of things at the southwest end of Melville Island 
than we did, and may have been led thereby to at- 
tempt to force a passage for his ships in the direct line 
of Behring's Strait, or perhaps, in the first instance, to 
the south of that direction, namely, to Banks' Land 
In such case two contingencies present themselves ■ 
first, that in the season of navigation of 1847 he may 
have made so much progress, that in 1848 he may have 
preferred the endeavor to push through to Behring's 
Strait, or to some western part of the continent, to an 
attempt to return by the way of Barrow's Strait; tlij 
mission of the Plover, the Enterprise, and the Inves- 
tigator together with Dr. Rae's expedition, supply, 1 
presume, (for I am but partially acquainted with their 
instructions,) the most judicious means of afibrding re- 
lief in this direction. There is, however, a second con- 
tingency ; and it is the one which the impression left 
on my mind by the nature and general aspect of the 
ice in the twelve months which we ourselves passed at 
the southwest end of Melville Island, compels me, in 
spite of my wishes, to regard as the more probable, 
viz., that his advance from Melville Island in the sea- 
son of 1847 may have been limited to a distance of 
fifty, or perhaps one hundred miles at farthest, and 
that in 1848 he may have endeavored to retrace his 
steps, but only with partial success. It is, I apprehend, 
quite a conceivable case, that under these circumstances 



OPINIONS AND StTGOESllONS. 271 

incapable of extricating the ships from the ice, the 
crews may have been, at length, obliged to quit them, 
and attempt a retreat, not toward the continent, because 
too distant, but to Melville Island, where certainly 
food, and probably fuel (seals,) might be obtained, and 
where they would naturally suppose that vessels dis- 
patched from England for their relief would, in the 
first instance, seek them. It is quite conceivable also, 
I apprehend, that the circumstances might be such 
that their retreat may have been made without their 
boats, and probably in the April or May of 1849. 

"Where the Esquimaux have lived, there Englishmen 
may live, and no valid argument against the attempt 
to relieve can, I think, be founded on the improbability 
of finding Englishmen alive in 1850, who may have 
made a retreat to Melville Island in the spring of 1849 ; 
nor would the view of the case be altered in any ma- 
terial degree, if we suppose their retreat to have been 
made in 1848 or 1849 to Banks' Land, which may 
afford facilities of food and fuel equal or superior to 
Melville Island, and a further retreat in the following 
year to the latter island as the point at which they 
would more probably look out for succor. 

" Without disparagement, therefore, to the attempts 
made in other directions, I retain my original opinion, 
which seems also to have been the opinion of the 
Board of Admiralty, by which Ross's instructions were 
drawn up, that the most promising direction for re- 
search would be taken by a vessel which should follow 
them to the southwest point of Melville Island, be pre- 
pared to winter there, and, if necessary, to send a 
party across the ice in April or May to examine Banks' 
Land, a distance (there and back) less than recently 
accomplished by Ross in his land journey. 

"I learn from Ross's dispatches, that almost imme- 
diately after he got out of Port Leopold (1849,) he was 
entangled in apparently interminable fields and floes 
of ice, with which, in the course of the summer, he 
was drifted down through Barrow's Strait and Baffin's 
Bay nearly to Davis' Strait. It is reasonable to pre- 



272 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

8ume, therefore, that the localities fron. whence this 
ice drifted are likely to be less encumbered than usual 
by accumulated ice in 1850. It is, of course, of the 
highest importance to reach Barrow's Strait at the ear- 
liest possible period of the season ; and, connected with 
this point I learn from Captain Bird, whom I had the 
pleasure of seeing here a few days ago, a very remark- 
able fact, that the ice which prevented their crossing 
Baffin's Bay in 72° or 73° of latitude (as we did in 
1819, arriving in Barrow's Strait a month earlier than 
we had done the preceding year, when we went round 
by Melville Bay, and nearly a month earlier than Ross 
did last year) was young ice, which had formed in the 
remarkably calm summer of last year, and which the 
absence of wind prevented their forcing a passage 
through, on the one hand, while on the other, the ice 
was not heavy enough for ice anchors. It was, he said, 
not more than two or two and a half feet thick, and ob- 
viously of very recent formation. There must, there- 
fore, have been an earlier period of the season when 
this part of the sea must have been free from ice ; and 
this comes in confirmation of a circumstance of which 
I was informed by Mr. Petersen (a Danish gentleman 
sent to England some months ago by the Northern So- 
ciety of Antiquaries of Copenhagen, to make extracts 
from books and manuscripts in the British Museum,) 
that th(^, Northmen, who had settlements some centu- 
ries ago on the west coast of Greenland, were in the 
habit of crossing Baffin's Bay in the latitude of Uper- 
navic in the spring of the year, for the purpose of fish- 
ing in Barrow's Strait, from whence they returned in 
August ; and that in the early months they generally 
found the passage across free from ice. 

" In the preceding remarks, I have left one contin- 
gency unconsidered ; it is that which would have fol- 
lowed in pursuance of his instructions, if Franklin should 
have found the aspect of the ice too unfavorable to the 
west and south of Melville Island to attempt to force a 
passage through it, and should have retraced his steps 
in hopes of finding a more 0]>en sea to the northward, 



OPLNiUNb AJ^JJ SUGGESTlOJSb. 273 

tiither in Wellington Strait or elsewhere. It is quite 
conceivable that here also the expedition may have en- 
countered, at no very great distance, insuperable diffi- 
culties to their advance, and may have failed in accom- 
plishing a return with their ships. In this case, the 
retreat of the crews, supposing it to have been made 
across land or ice, would most probably be directed to 
some part of the coast on the route to Melville Island, 
on which route they would, without doubt, expect that 
succor would be attempted." 

Mr. Eobert A. Goodsir, a brother of Mr. H. D. Good- 
sir, the assistant-surgeon of Sir John Franklin's ship, 
the Erebus, left Stromness, as surgeon of the Advice, 
whaler, Capt. Penny, on the 17th of March, 1849, in 
the hopes of gaining some tidings of his brother ; but 
returned unsuccessful after an eight months' voyage. 
He has, however, published a very interesting little 
narrative of the icy regions and of his arctic voyage. 

In a letter to Lady Franklin, dated Edinburgh, 18th 
of January, 1850, he says : — " I trust you are not allow- 
ing yourself to become over-anxious. I know that, 
although there is much cause to be so, there is still not 
the slightest reason that we should despair. It may be 
presumptuous in me to say so, but I have never for a 
moment doubted as to their ultimate ^afe return, having 
always had a sort of presentiment that I would meet my 
brother and his companions somewhere in the regions 
in which their adventures are taking place. This hope 
I have not yet given up, and I trust that by next sum- 
mer it may be fulfilled, when an end will be put to the 
suspense which has lasted so long, and which must have 
tried you so much." 

The arctic regions, far from being so destitute of ani- 
mal life as might be supposed from the bleak and inhos- 
pitable character of the climate, are proverbial for the 
boundless profusion of various species of the animal 
kingdom, which are to be met with in difierent locali- 
ties during a great part of the year. 

The air is often darkened by innumerable flocks of 
arctic and blue gulls, {Lestris Parasiticus^ and Larus 



274 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

glaucus^ the ivory gull or snow-bird, {Larus eburneuh. ) 
the kittiwake, the fulmar or petrel, snow geese, terns, 
coons, dovekiee, &c. The cetaceous animals comprise 
the great Greenland whale, {Baloena mysticetus^ the 
sea unicorn or narwhal, {Monodon nionoceros^ the 
white whale or beluga, {Delphhius leucos^ the morse 
or walrus, {Tricheeics rosmarus^ and the seal. There 
are also plenty of porpoises occasionally to be met with, 
and although these animals may not be the best of food, 
yet they can be eaten. Of the land animals I may in- 
stance the polar bear, the musk-ox, the reindeer, .the 
arctic fox and wolves. 

Parry obtained nearly 40001bs. weight of animal food 
during his winter residence at Melville Island ; Ross 
nearly the same quantity from birds alone when winter- 
ing at Port Leopold. 

In 1719, the crews of two Hudson's Bay vessels, the 
Albany and Discovery, a ship and sloop, under the 
command of Mr. Barlow and Mr. Knight, were cast on 
shore on Marble Island, and it was subsequently ascer- 
tained that some of the party supported life for nearly 
three years. Mr. Ilearne learned the particulars from 
some of the Esquimaux in 1729. The ship it appeared 
went on shore in the fall of 1719 ; the party being then 
in number about fifty, began to build their house for 
the winter. As soon as the ice permitted in the follow- 
ing summer the Esquimaux paid them anotlier visit, and 
found the number of sailors much reduced, and very 
unhealthy. 

Sickness and famine occasioned such havoc among 
them that by the setting in of the second winter, their 
number was reduced to twenty. Some of the Esqui- 
maux took up their abode at this period on tlie opposite 
side of the harbor, and supplied them with what provis- 
ions they could spare in the shape of blubber, seal's 
flesh, and train oil. 

The Esquimaux left for their wanderings in the 
spring, and on revisiting the island in the summer of 
1y21, only five of the crews were found alive, and these 
were so ravenous for food, that tliey devoured the blnh- 



AJBtrNDANCE OF ANIMAL FOOD MET WITH. 275 

ber and seal's flesh raw, as they purchased it of the 
natives, which proved so injurious in their weak state, 
that three of them died in a few days. The two sur- 
vivors, though very weak, managed to bury their com- 
rades, and protracted their existence for some days 
longer. 

"They frequently," in the words of the narrative, 
'went to the top of an adjacent rock, and earnestly 
looked to the south and east, as if in expectation of some 
vessels coming to their relief. After continuing there 
a considerable time, and nothing appearing in sight, 
they sat down close together, and wept bitterly. At 
length one of the two died, and the other's strength was 
60 far exhausted, that he fell down and died also in 
attempting to dig a grave for his companion. The skulls 
and other large bones of these two. men are now lying 
above ground close to the house." 

Sir John Richardson, speaking of the amount of food 
to be obtained in the j^olar region, says, " Deer migrate 
over the ice in the spring from the main shore to Vic- 
toria and Wollaston Lands in large herds, and return in 
the autumn. These Isnds are also the breeding places 
of vast flocks of snow geese ; so that with ordinary 
skill in hunting, a large supply of food might be pro- 
cured on their shores, in the months of June, July, and 
August. Seals are also numerous in those seas, and 
are easily shot, their curiosity rendering them a ready 
pre}^ to a boat party." In these ways and by fishing, 
the stock of provisions might be greatly augmented — 
and we have the recent example of Mr. Rae, who 
passed a severe winter on the very barren shores of 
Kepulse Bay, vdth no other fuel than the withered tufts 
of a herbaceous andromada, and maintained a numer- 
ous party on the spoils of the chase alone for a whole 
year. Such instances, forbid us to lose hope. Should 
Sir John Franklin's provisions become so far inade- 
quate to a winter's consumption, it is not likely that he 
would remain longer by his ships, but rather that in 
one body, or in several, the oflicers and crews, with 
boats cut down so as to be light enough to drag over 

is 



276 PIJOGRESS OF ARCriC Msec VERY. 

the ice, or built expressly for that purpose, would en- 
deavor to make their way eastward to Lancaster Sound, 
or southward to the main-land, according to the longi- 
tude in which the ships were arrested. 

We ought not to judge of the supplies of food that 
can be procured in the arctic regions by diligent hunt- 
ing, from the quantities that have been actually ob- 
tained on the several expeditions that have returned, 
and consequently of the means of preserving life there. 
When there was abundance in the ships, the address 
and energy of the hunting parties was not likely to be 
called forth, as they would inevitably be when the exis- 
tence of the crews depended solely on their personal 
efforts, and formed their chief or only object in their 
march toward quarters where relief might be looked 
for. This remark has reference to the supposition that 
on the failure of the stock of provisions in the ships, 
the crews would, in separate parties under their officers, 
seek for succor in several directions. 

With an empty stomach, the power of resisting exter- 
nal cold is greatly impaired ; but when the process of 
digesting is going on vigorously, even with compara- 
tively scanty clothing, the heat of the body is preserved. 
There is in the winter time, in high latitudes, a craving 
for fat or oleaginous food, and for such occasions the 
flesh of seals, walruses, or bears, forms a useful article 
of diet. Captain Cook says that the walrus is a sweet 
and wholesome article of food. Whales and seals would 
also furnish light and fuel. The necessity for increased 
food in very cold weather, is not so great when the 
people do not work. 

Mr. Gilpin, in his narrative in the Nautical Maga- 
zine for March, 1850, writes thus : — 

"About the 20th of June a small water bird, called 
the doveky, had become so numerous, and so many 
were daily shot by those who troubled themselves to go 
after them, that shooting parties from each ship, con- 
sisting of an officer and marine, were established a* 
Wlialer Point, where they remained the whole week, 
returning on board on Saturday night. In a week ot 



AlttTNDANCE OF ANIMAL F0OT> MET WITH. 27^ 

80 after this the coon, a much heavier bird, became 
more plentiful than the little doveky, and from this 
time to the middle of August, so successful and un- 
tiring were our sportsmen, that the crew received 
each a bird per man a day. 

" The account kept on board th e Investigator showed 
the number of birds killed to have amounted to about 
4000, and yielding near 2500lbs. of meat. But more 
than this was obtained, as many were shot by indi- 
viduals for amusement, and not always noted." 

Mr. Goodsir, snrgeon, when in the Advice whaler, on 
her voyage up Lancaster Sound, in the summer of 1849, 
speaking of landing on one of the WoUaston Islands, on 
the west side of ITavy Board Inlet, says he disturbed 
about lialf a dozen pairs of eider-duck {Somateria 
TRollissirrha.) Their eggs he found to be within a few 
hours of maturity. Tliere were, besides, numerous 
nests, the occupants of which had probably winged 
their way southward. Two brent gQQQQ,{Anser hernida) 
and a single pair of arctic terns, {Sterna arctica!) 
were most vociferous and courageous in defence of 
their downy offspring wherever he approached. These 
were the only birds he saw, with the exception of a 
solitary raven, (Corvus corax^ not very liigh over- 
head, whose sharp and yet musically bell-like croak 
came startling upon the ear. 

Mr. Snow, in his account of the voyage of the Prince 
illbert, p. 162, says, (speaking of Melville Bay, at the 
northen head of Baltin's Bay,) " Innumerable quanti- 
ties of birds, especially tlie little auk, {Alca alle^ and 
the doveky, (Colyrtihiis grylle^) were now seen, (Au- 
gust 6th,) in every direction. They were to be ob- 
served in thousands, on the wing and in the water, 
and often on pieces of ice, where they were clustered 
together so thick that scores miglit have been shot at 
a time by two or three fowling pieces." 

In passing up Lancaster Sound a fortnight later sev- 
eral shoal of eider-ducks and large quantities of othej 
birds were also seen. 



3T8 piior>RESS of arctic discovebt. 

A BALLAD OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN 

" The ice was here, the ice was there, 
The ice was all around." — Colebioob. 

Whither sail you, Sir Jobn Franklin ? 

Cried a whaler in Baffin's Bay ; 
To know if between the land and the Pole. 

I may find a broad sea-way. 

I charge you back, Sir John^Fi-anklin, 

As yoir would live and thrive, 
For between the land and the frozen Pole 

No man may sail alive. 

But lightly laughed the stout Sir John, 

And spoke unto his men : — 
Half England is wrong, if he is right ; 

Bear off to westward then. 

0, whither sail you, brave Englishman ? 

Cried the little Esquimaux. 
Between your land and the polar star 

My goodly vessels go. 

Come down, if you would journey there, 

The little Indian said ; 
And change your cloth for fur clothing, 

Your vessel for a sled 

But lightly laughed tlie stout Sir John, 
And the crew laughed witli him too ; 

A sailor to change from ship to sled, 
I ween, were something new ! 

All through the long, long polar day, 

The vessels westwai'd sped ; 
And wherever the sail of Sir John was blowi*. 

The ice gave way and fled. 

Gave way with many a hollow groan. 

And with many a surly roar; 
But it murmured and threatened on every side 

And closed where he sailed before. 

Ho! soe yc not my merry man, 

The broad and open sea? 
Bethink ye what the whaler said, 
Bethink ye of the little Indian's sled I 
The crew laughed out iii glee. 

Sir John, Sir John, 't is bitter cold, 
The scud drives on the breeze, 

The ice comes looming from the north, 
The very sunbeams freeze. 

Bright summer goes, dark winter comes — 

We cannot rule the year; 
But long ere summer's sun goes down, 

On yonder sea we'll steer. 



A MiXAb OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 27^ 



The dripping icebergs dipped and rose. 

And floundered down the gale ; 
The ships were staid, the yards were manned. 

And furled the useless sail. 

The summer 's gone, the winter *8 come. 

We sail not «n yonder sea ; 
Why sail we no^. Sir John Franklin ? 

— A silent man was he. 

The winter goes, the summer comes. 

We cannot rule the year ; 
I ween, we cannot rule the ways. 

Sir John, wherein we 'd steer. 

The cruel ice came floating on. 

And closed beneath the lee. 
Till the thickening waters dashed no mon^ 
*T was ice around, behind, before — 

My God ! there is no sea ! 

What think you of the whaler now ! 

What of the Esquimaux ? 
A sled were better than a ship. 

To cruise through ice and snow. 

Down sank the baleful crimson sun ; 

The northern-light came out, 
And glared upon the ice-bound ships, 

And shook its speare about. 

The snow came down, storm breeding ston^ 

And on the decks was laid ; 
Till the weary sailor, sick at heart, 

Sank down beside his spade. 

Sir John, the night is black and long. 

The hissing wind is bleak ; 
The hard, green ice is stiong as death : — 

I prithee, captain, speak. 

The night is neither bright nor short. 

The singing breeze is cold. 
The ice is not so strong as hope, 

The heart of man is bold I 

What hope can scale this icy wall. 

High o'er the main flag-staff? 
Above the ridges the wolf and bear 
Look down with a patient, settled stare—' 

Look down on us and laugh. 

The summer went, the winter came— 

We could not rule the year ; 
But summer will melt the ice again, 
And open a path to the sunny main, 

Whereov our ships shall stee" 



280 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

The winter went, the summer went, 

The winter came around ; 
But the hard, green ice was strong as death, 
And the voice of hope sank to a breath, 

Yet caught at eveiy soimd. 

Hark 1 heard you not the sound of guns T 
And there, and there again ? 

*T is some uneasy iceberg's roar, 
As he turns in the frozen main. 

Hurra ! hurra I the Esquimaux 

Across the ice-fields steal : 
God give them grace for their charity 1 

Te pray for the silly seal 

Sir John, where are the English fields 
And where the English trees. 

And where are the little English flowei-s, 
That open in the breeze ? 

Be still, be still, my brave sailors I 
You shall see the fields again, 

And smell the scent of the opening flowery 
The grass, and the waving grain. 

Oh I when shall I see my orphan child T 

My Mary waits for me ; 
Oh 1 when shall I see mv old mother. 

And pray at her trembling knee ? 

Be still, be still, my brave sailors I 
Think not such thoughts again ! 

But a tear froze slowly on his cheek — 
He thought of Lady Jane. 

Ah ! bitter, bitter gi'ows the cold, 
The ice gi'ows more and more ; 

More settled stare the wolf and bear, 
More patient than before. 

Oh ! think you, good Sir John Franklin, 

We '11 ever see the land ? 
'T was cruel to send us here to starve, 

Without a helping hand. 

*T was cruel, Sir John, to send us here, 

So far from help or home ; 
To starve and freeze on this lonely sea ; 
I ween, the Lords of the Admiralty 

Had rather send than come. 

Oh ! whether we starve to death alone, 

Or sail to our own country. 
We have done what niau has never done — 
The open ocean danced in the sun — 

We passed the Northern Sea 1 



tHE SEAECirtNG EJ^EDITIONS. ^$1 

The Government and Private Searching Expeditions 
AETER Sir John Franklin. 

The following is a complete list of the several relief 
and exploring vessels which have been sent out dm*ing 
the last two years by the British government, by private 
individuals, and by the American nation : — 

Ships. Men Commanders. 

1. H. M. S. Enterprise - - 68 Capt. CoUinson. 

2. H. M. S. Investigator - - 65 Com. M'Clure. 

3. H. M. S. Plover - - - 52 Com. Moore. 

4. H. M. S. Eesolute - - - 68 Capt. H. Austin. 

5. H. M. S. Assistance - - 60 Capt. E. Ommaney. 

6. H. M. S. Intrepid, (screw 

steamer,) ----- 30 Lieut. S. Osborn. 

7. H. M. S. Intrepid, (screw 

steamer,) 38 Lieut. Cator. 

8. The Lady Franklin - - 25 Mr. Penny. 

9. The Sophia, (a tender to 

the above,) 22 Mr. Stewart. 

10. United States brig Ad- 

vance ----- 20 Lieut. De Haven. 

11. United States vessel Res- 

cue 18 Mr. S. P. Griffin. 

12. Felix yacht Capt. Sir John Ross. 

13. Mary, (tender to the Felix.) 

14. The North Star, Master ana Commander Saunders. 

15. Tlie Prince Albert - - 18 Com. Forsyth. 

Of these vessels the Enterprise, Investigator, and 
Plover, are at present engaged on the western branch 
of search through Behring's Straits. The rest have all 
proceeded through Baffin's Bay to Lancaster Sound, and 
the channels branching out fi-om thence, except the last 
two, which have returned home. 

Voyage of the "Enterprise" and "Investigator" 
UNDER Captain Sir James C. Ross, 1848-49. 

In the spring of 1848, Captain Sir James C. Ross 
was placed in command of a well found and fitted ex- 
pedition, with means and advantages of unusual extent. 



; -' 



2^2 PROGRESS OF AJRCTtC DISCOVUlRt. 

and with an object that could not fail to stimulate in 
the highest degree the energies and perseverance of all 
embarked in it. With the ever present feeling, too, that 
the lives of their countrymen and brother sailors de- 
pended, (under God's good providence,) upon their 
unflinching exertions. Captain Ross and his followers 
went forth in the confident hope that their efforts might 
be crowned with success. 

The season was considerably advanced before the 
whole of the arrangements were completed, for it was 
not until the 12th of June, 1848, that Captain Ross left 
England, having under his charge the Enterprise and 
Investigator, with the following officers and crews : — 

£hterprise, 540 tons. 

Captain — Sir James C. Ross. 

Lieutenants — ■■ R. J. L. M'Clure, F. L. McClintock, 

and W. H. J. Browne. 
Master — W. S. Could ery, (acting^ 
Surgeon — W. Robertson, (J) M. D. 
Assistant-Surgeon — H. Matthias. 
Clerk — Edward Whitehead. 

Total complement, 68. 

Investigator^ 480 tons. 
Captain — E. J. Bird. 
Lieutenants— M. G. H. W. Ross, Frederick Robingon 

and J. J. Barnard. 
Master — W. Tatham. 
Surgeon — Robert Anderson. 
Mates — L. J. Moore and S. G. Cresswell. 
Second Master — John IL Allard. 
Assistant-Surgeon — E. Adams. 
Clerk in Charge — James D. Gilpin. 
Total complement, 67. 

The ships reached the Danish settlement of IJpper- 
navick, situated on one of the group of Woman's Islands 
on the western shore of Baffin's Bay, on the 6tli of 
July Running through this intricate archipelago, thev 



vol AGE OF ENTEKPKISE AND ESfVESTIGATOK 283 

were made fast, on the 20th, to an iceberg aground oif 
Cape Shackleton. The ships were towed, during the 
next few days, through loose streams of ice, and on the 
morning of the 26th were off the three islands of Baffin 
in latitude 74° 'N. Calms and light winds so greatly 
impeded any movement in the pack, that day aftei 
day passed away until the season had so far advanced 
as to preclude every hope of accomplishing much, if 
any thing, before the setting in of winter. 

No exertions, however, were spared to take advantage 
of every opportunity of pushing forward, until, on the 
20th of August, during a heavy breeze from the north- 
east, the ships under all sail bored through a j)ack of ice 
of but moderate thickness, but having among it heavy 
masses, throu^ which it was necessary to drive them at 
all hazards. The shocks the ships sustained during this 
severe trial were great, but fortunately without serious 
damage to them. Getting into clear water in lat. 75 h N., 
and long. 68° W., on the 23d the ships stood in to 
Pond's Bay, but no traces of Esquimaux or other human 
beings were discovered, although signals were made and 
guns fired at repeated intervals. The ships were kept 
close to the land, and a rigid examination made of the 
►coast to the northward, so that neither people nor boats 
could have passed without being seen. On the 26th 
the ships arrived off Possession Bay, and a party was 
sellt on shore to search for any traces of the expedition 
having touched at this general point of rendezvous. 
Nothing was found but the paper left there recording 
the visit of Sir Edward Parry, on the very day (August 
30th) in 1819. From this point the examination of the 
coast was continued with equal care. On the 1st of 
September they arrived off Cape York, and a boat's 
crew was sent on shore, to fix a conspicuous mark, and 
leave information for the guidance of any future party 
that might touch here. 

I shall now take up the narrative in Sir James Ross's 

own words — " We stood over toward northeast cape 

until we came in with the edge of a pack, too dense for 

us to penetrate, lying between us and Leopold Island, 

18 I.* 



lib* PBOGIiESS OF ARCTIC DISC07EJJY. 

about fourteen miles broad ; we therefore coasted the 
north shore of Barrow's Strait, to seek a harbor further 
to the westward, and to examine the numerous inlets of 
that shore. Maxwell Bay, and several smaller indenta- 
tions, were thoroughly explored, and, although we got 
near the entrance of Wellington Channel, the firm bar- 
rier of ice which stretched across it, and which had not 
broken away this season, convinced us all was imprac- 
ticable in that direction. We now stood to the south- 
west to seek for a harbor near Cape Kennell, but found 
a heavy body of ice extending from the west of Corn- 
wallis Island in a compact mass to Leopold Island. 
Coasting along the pack during stormy and foggy 
weather, we had difficulty in keeping the ships free 
during the nights, for I believe so great a quantity of ice 
was never before seen in Barrow's Strait at this period 
of the season." 

Fortunately, after some days of anxious and arduous 
work, the ships were got through the pack, and secured 
in the harbor of Port Leopold on the 11th of Septeniber. 
No situation could be better adapted for the purpose 
than this locality ; being at the junction of the four 

freat channels of Barrow's Strait, Lancaster Sound, 
*rince Regent Iiilet, and Wellington Channel, it wa» 
hardly possible for any party, after abandoning their 
ships, to pass along the shores of any of those inlets, 
without finding indications of the proximity of tlf^se 
ships. 

The night following the very day of the ships' getting 
in, the main pack closed with the land, and completely 
sealed the mouth of the harbor. The long winter was 
passed in exploring and surveying journeys along the 
coasts in all directions. During the winter as many as 
fifty white foxes were taken alive, in traps made of 
empty casks set for the purpose. As it was well known 
how large a tract of country these animals traverse in 
Bearch of food, copper collars, (upon which a notice of 
the position of the ships and depots of provisions was 
engraved,) were clinched round their necks, and they 
were then set free, in the hope that some of these four- 



VOYAGE OF ENTEKPJRISE AND INVESTIGATOR. 285 

footed messengers might be the means of conveying the 
intelligence to the Erebus and Terror, as the crews of 
those vessels would naturally be eager for their capture. 
The months of April and May were occuj)ied by Capt. 
Ross, Lieut. McClintock, and a party of twelve men, in 
examining and thoroughly exploring all the inlets and 
smaller indentations of the northern and western coasts 
of Boothia peninsula, in which any ships might have 
found shelter. 

From the high land in the neighborhood of Cape 
Bunny, Capt. Ross obtained a very extensive view, and 
observed that the whole space between it and Cape 
Walker to the west, and "Wellington Strait to the north, 
was occupied by very heavy hummocky ice. 

" The examination of the coast," Sir James Ross tells 
us, " was pm-sued until the 5th of June, when, having 
consumed more than half our provisions, and the strength 
of the party being much reduced, I was reluctantly 
compelled to abandon further operations, as it was, 
moreover, necessary to give the men a day of rest. 
But that the time might not wholly be lost, I proceeded 
with two hands to the extreme south point in sight from 
our encampment, distant about eight or nine miles." 

This extreme point is situate in lat. 72° 38' E"., and 
long. 95° 40' W., and is the west face of a small high 
peninsula. The state of the atmosphere being at the 
time peculiarly favorable for distinctness of vision, land 
of any great elevation might have been seen at the dis- 
tance of 100 miles. The highest cape of the coast was 
not more than fifty miles distant, bearing nearly due 
south. A very narrow isthmus was found to separate 
Prince Regent Inlet from the western sea at Cresswell 
and Brentford Bays. The ice in this quarter proved to 
be eight feet thick. A large cairn of stones was erected, 
and on the 6th of June, the return journey was com- 
menced. After encountering a variety of difficulties 
they reached the ships on the 23d, so completely worn 
out by fatigue, that every man was, from some cause or 
other, in the doctor's hands for two or three weeks. 
During their absence, Mr Matthias, the assistant-surgeon 



286 PROGRESS OF AliOTIO DISCOVERY. 

of the Enterprise, had died of consumption. Several of 
the cre^vs of both ships were in a declining state, and 
the general re^^ort of health was by no means cheering. 

While Captain Ross was away, Commander Bird 
had dispatched other smweying parties in different di- 
rections. One, imder the command of Lieutenant Bar 
nard, to the northern shore of Barrow's Strait, crossing 
the ice to Cape Hind ; a second, commanded by Lieu- 
tenant Browne, to the eastern shore of Regent Inlet ; 
and a third party of six men, conducted by Lieutenant 
Robinson, along the western shore of the Inlet. The 
latter officer extended his examination of the coast as 
far as Cresswell Bay, several miles to the southward 
of Fury Beach. He found the house still standing in 
which Sir John Ross passed the winters of 1832-33, 
together with a quantity of the stores and provisions 
of the Fury, lost there in 1827. On opening some of 
the packages containing flour, sugar and peas, they 
were all found to be in excellent preservation, and the 
preserved soup as good as when manufactured. The 
labors of these searching parties were, however, of 
comparatively short duration, as they all suffered from 
snow-blindness, sprained ankles, and debility. 

A.S :t was now but too evident, from no traces of the 
absent expedition having been met with by any of 
these parties, that the ships could not have been de- 
tained anywhere in this part of the arctic regions, 
Captain Ross considered it most desirable to push for- 
ward to the westward as soon as his ships should be lib- 
erated. His chief hopes now centered in the efforts of 
Sir John Richardson's party ; but he felt persuaded 
that S:.' John Franklin's ships must have penetrated 
so far beyond Melville Island as to induce him to j^refer 
making for the continent of America rather than seek- 
ing assistance from the whale ships in Baffin's Bay. 
The crews, weakened by incessant exertion, were now 
in a very unfit state to undertake the heavy labor 
which they had yet to accomplish, but all hands that 
were able were set to work with saws to cut a channel 
toward the point of the harbor, a distance of lathe; 



VOYAGE OF ENTEKPJRISE AND INVESTIGATOR. 287 

more than two miles, and on the 28th of August the 
ships got clear. Before quitting the port, a house was 
built of the spare sj^ars of both ships, and covered with 
such of the housing cloths as could be dispensed with. 
Twelve months' provisions, fuel, and other necessaries 
were also left behind, together with the steam launch 
belonging to the Investigator, which, having been pur- 
posely lengthened seven feet, now formed a fine vessel, 
capable of conveying the whole of Sir John FranMin's 
party to the whale ships, if necessary. 

The Investigator and Enterprise now proceeded 
toward the northern shore of Barrow's Strait, for the 
purpose of examining Wellington Channel, and, if pos- 
sible, penetrating as far as Melville Island, but when 
about twelve miles from the shore, the ships came to 
the fixed land-ice, and found it impossible to proceed. 

On the 1st of September a strong wind suddenly 
arising, brought the loose pack, through which they 
had been struggling, down upon the ships, which w^ere 
closely beset. At times, during two or three days, 
they sustained severe pressure, and ridges of hum- 
mocks were thrown up all around ; but after that time 
the temperature falling to near zero, it formed the 
whole body of ice into one solid mass. 

The remainder of the narrative, as related by the 
Commander of the expedition in his official dispatch, 
will not bear abridgment. 

" We were so circumstanced that for some days we 
could not unship the rudder, and when, by the labori- 
ous operation of sawing and removing the hummocks 
from under the stern, we were able to do so, we found 
it twisted and damaged ; and the ship was so much 
strained, as to increase the leakage from three inches 
in a fortnight to fourteen inches daily. The ice was 
stationary for a few days ; the pressure had so folded 
the lighter pieces over each other and they were so 
interlaced, as to form one entire sheet, extending from 
shore to shore of Barrow's Strait, and as far to the east 
and west as the eye could discern from the mast-head, 
while the ext^'cmo severity of the temperature had 



288 PKOGRESS OF AKCTIO DISCOVEKr. 

cemented the whole so firmly together that it appeared 
highly improbable that it could break up again this 
season. In the space which had been cleared away 
for unshipping the rudder, the newly-formed ice was 
fifteen inches thick, and in some places along the ship's 
side the thirteen-feet screws were too short to work. 
We had now fully made up our minds that the ships 
were fixed for the winter, and dismal as the prospect 
appeared, it was far preferable to being carried along 
the west coast of Baffin's Bay, where the grounded 
bergs are in such numbers upon the shallow banks off 
that shore, as to render it next to impossible for ships 
involved in a pack to escape destruction. It was, 
therefore, with a mixture of hope and anxiety that, on 
the wind shifting to the westward, we perceived the 
whole body of ice begin to drive to the eastward, at the 
rate of eight to ten miles daily. Every effort on our 
part was totally unavailing, for no human power could 
have moved either of the ships a single inch ; they were 
thus completely taken out of our own hands, and in the 
center of a field of ice more than fifty miles in circum- 
ference, were carried along the southern shore of 
Lancaster Sound. 

" After passing its entrance, the ice drifted in a more 
southerly direction , along the western shore of Baffin's 
Bay, until we were abreast of Pond's Bay, to the south- 
ward of which we observed a great number of icebergs 
stretching across our path, and presenting the fearful 
prospect of our worst anticipations. But when least 
expected by us, our release was almost miraculously 
brought about. The great field of ice was rent into 
innumerable fragments, as if by some unseen power." 

By energetic exertion, warping, and sailing, the shipa 
got clear of the pack, and reached an open space of 
water on the 25th of September. 

" It is impossible," says Captain Ross, in his con 
eluding observations, " to convey any idea of the sen 
sation we experienced when we found ourselves once 
more at liberty, while many a grateful heart poured 
forth its praises and thanksgivings to Almighty God 
for this ui" looked for deliverance.' 



VOYAGE OF ENTEKPEISE AND IN VESTIG ATOK. 2159 

"The advance of winter had now closed all the har- 
bors against ns ; and as it was impossible to penetrate 
to the westward through the pack from which we had 
just been liberated, I made the signal to the Investi- 
gator of my intention to return to England." 

After a favorable passage, the ships arrived home 
early in ISTovember, Captain Sir J. C. Ross reporting 
himself at the Admiralty on the 5th of J^ovember. 

As this is the last arctic voyage of Sir James C. Boss, 
it is a fitting place for some record of his arduous 
services. 

Captain Sir James Clarke Ross entered the navy in 
1812, and served as volunteer of the first class, mid- 
shipman and mate until 1817, with his uncle Com- 
mander Ross. In 1818 he was appointed Admiralty 
midshipman in the Isabella, on Commander Ross's first 
voyage of discovery to the arctic seas. He was then 
midshipman in the tw^o following years with Captain 
Parry, in the Hecla ; followed him again in the Fury 
in his second voyage, and was promoted on the 26th 
of December, 1822. In 1824 and 1825, he was lieu- 
tenant in the Fury, under Captain Hoppner, on Parry's 
third voyage. In 1827, he was appointed first lieuten- 
ant of the Hecla, under Parry, and accompanied him 
in command of the second boat in his attempt to reach 
the I^orth Pole. On his return he received his promo- 
tion to the rank of commander, the 8th of ISTovember, 
1827. From 1829 to 1833, he was employed with his 
uncle as second in command in the Victory on the pri- 
vate expedition sent out by Mr. Felix Booth. Dui'ing 
this period he planted, on the 1st of June, 1831, the 
British flag on the IS^orth Magnetic Pole. For this, on 
his return, he was presented by the Herald's College 
with an addition to his family arms of an especial crest, 
representing a flag-staff erect on a rock, with the union 
jack hoisted thereon, inscribed with the date, " 1 June, 
1831." On the 23d of October, 1834, he was proraoted 
to the rank of Captain, and in the following year em- 
ployed in making magnetic observations, preparatory 
to the gene^'al magnetic survey of England. In the 



290 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

close of 1836, it having been represented to the A.d 
miralty, from Hull, that eleven whale ships, having on 
board 600 men, were left in the ice in Davis' Strait, 
and in imminent danger of perishing, unless relief were 
forwarded to them, the Lords Commissioners resolved 
upon sending out a ship to search for them. Captain 
Ross, with that promptitude and humanity which has 
always characterized him, volunteered to go out in the 
depth of winter, and the Lieutenants, F. R. M. Crozier, 
Inman, and Ommaney, with the three mates, Jesse, 
Buchan, and John Smith, and Mr. Hailett, clerk in 
charge, joined him. They sailed from England on the 
21st of December, and on arriving in Davis' Strait, after 
a stormy passage, found that nine of the missing ships 
were by that time in England, that the tenth was re- 
leased on her passage, and that the other was in all 
probability lost, as some of her water-casks had been 
picked up at sea. From 1837 to 1838, Captain Ross 
was employed in determining the variation of the com- 
pass on all parts of the coast of Great Britain ; and 
from 1839 to 1843, as Captain of the Erebus, in com- 
mand of the antarctic expedition. In 1841, he was 
presented with the founder's medal of the Royal Geo- 
graphical Society of London, for his discoveries toward 
the South Pole ; and he has also received the gold 
medal of the Geographical Society of Paris. On the 
13th of March, 1844, he received the honor of knight- 
hood from the Queen, and in June of the same year 
the University of Oxford bestowed on him their honor- 
ary degree of D. C. L. Li 1848, he went out, as we 
have just seen, in the Enterprise, in Command of one 
of the searching expeditions sent to seek for Franklin. 

YOYAGE OF H. M. S. " JSTORTH StAR." 

The North Star, of 600 tons, was fitted out in the 
spring of 1849, under the command of Mr. J. Saunders, 
who had been acting master with Captain Back, in the 
Terror, in her perilous voyage to the Frozen Strait, in 
1836 



Vol^AGE OF THE NORTH STAR. 29l 

The following are the officers of the ships : — 

Master Commanding — J. Saunders. 

Second Masters — John Way, M. IS'orman, H. B. 

Gawler. 
Acting Ice-mastors — J. Leach, and G. Sabestor. 
Assistant Surgeon — James Rae, M. D. 
Clerk in Charge — Jasper Rutter. 

The North Star sailed fi-om the river Thames, on the 
26th of May, 1849, freighted with provisions for the 
missing expedition, and with orders and supplies for 
the Enterprise and Investigator. 

The following is one of the early dispatches from the 
commander : — 

" To the Secretary of the Admiralty, 

" H, M. S. Jforth Star, July 19, 1849, 
lat. 74° 3' iT., long. 59° 40' W. 

" Sir, — I addressed a letter to their Lordships on the 
18th ult., when in lat. 73° 30' IST., and long. 56° 53' W., 
detailing the particulars of my proceedings up to that 
date, which letter was sent by a boat from the Lady 
Jane, whaler, which vessel was wrecked, and those boats 
were proceeding to the Danish settlements. Since then, 
t regret to state, our progress has been almost entirely 
stopped, owing to the ice being so placed across Mel- 
ville Bay as to render it perfectly impassable. 

" On the 6th inst., finding it impossible to make any 
progress, I deemed it advisable to run as far S. as 72°, 
examining the pack as we wenc along. At 72° 22' the 
pack appeared slacker, and we entered it, and, after 
proceeding about twelve miles, found ourselves com- 
pletely stopped by large floes of ice.' We accordingly 
put back, and steeled again for the northward. 

"Having this day reached the latitude of 74° 3' IST., 
and long. 59° 40' W., the ice appeared more open, and 
we stood in toward the land, when we observed two 
boats approaching, and which afterward, on coming 
ilongside, were found to belong to the Prince of Wales, 
.vhaler, which vessel was nipped by the ice on the 12tb 
nst., in Melville Bav. 



i^9^ tROGEliSS OF ARCTIC DISCOVEBlf. 



" By the captain of the Prince of Wales I forward 
this letter to their Lordships, he intending to proceed 
in his boats to the Danish settlements. 
" I have the honor to be, &c. 

" J. Saunders, Master and Commander. 
" P. S. — Crew all well on board." 

On the 29th of July, having reached the vicinity of 
the Devil's Thumb and Melville Bay, in the northerly 
part of Baffin's Bay, she was beset in an ice-field, with 
which she drifted helplessly about as the tide or wind 
impelled her, until the 16th of August, when, a slight 
opening in the ice appearing, an effort was made to 
heave through into clear water. This proved labor in 
vain, and no further move was made until the 21st of 
September, except as she drifted in the ice floe in which 
she was fixed. On the day last named she was driving 
before a hard gale from the S. S. W., directly down upon 
an enormous iceberg in Melville Sound, upon which it 
she had struck in the then prevailing weather, her total 
destruction would have been inevitable. Providen- 
tially a corner of the ice-field in which she was being 
carried furiously along came into violent collision with 
the berg, a large section was carried away, and she 
escaped. On the 29th of September, 1849, having been 
sixty-two days in the ice, she took up her winter quar- 
ters in North Star Bay, so called after herself, a small 
bay in "Wolstenholme Sound, lying in 76° 33' north lat- 
itude, and 68° 56' west longitude ; the farthest point to 
the north at which a British ship ever wintered. The 
ship was fixed about half a mile from the shore, and 
made snug for the winter, sails were unbent, the masts 
struck, and the ship housed over and made as warm 
and comfortable as circumstances would permit. The 
ice soon after took across the Sound, so that the crew 
could have walked on shore. The cold was intense ; 
but two or three stoves warmed the ship, and the crews 
were cheered up and encouraged with all sorts of games 
and amusements, occasionally visiting the shore for the 
purpose of skylarking. There was, unfortunately, but 
little game to shoot. Former accounts gave this pl> n* 



TOYAGS Ot* THE KORTfl STAU. 2^3 

a high character for deer and other animals ; but the 
crew of the North Star never saw a single head of deer, 
and other animals were scarce ; about fifty hares were 
killed. Foxes were numerous, and a number shot, but 
none taken alive. A few Esquimaux families occasion- 
ally visited the ship, and one poor man was brought on 
board with his feet so fi-ozen that they dropped. He 
was placed under the care of the assistant-surgeon, Dr. 
Rae, who paid him much attention, and his legs were 
nearly cured ; but he died from a pulmonary disorder 
after having been on board some six weeks. The Korth 
Star was not able to leave this retreat until the 1st of 
August, 1850, and got into clear water on the third of 
that month. On the 21st of August, she spoke the 
Lady Franklin, Captain Penny, and her consort the 
Sophia, and the following day the Felix, Sir John Ross, 
in Lancaster Sound. Captain Penny reported that he 
had left Captain Austin all well on the 17th of August. 
On the 23d of August, the E'orth Star began landing 
the provisions she had carried out in 'Neivj Board Lq- 
let ; 73° W N. latitude, 80° 56' W. longitude. She 
remained &ve days there, and was occupied four and a 
half in landing the stores, which were deposited in a 
ravine a short distance from the beach of Supply Bay, 
the bight in Navy Board Inlet, which the commander 
of the North Star so named. The position of the stores 
was indicated by a flag-staff, with a black ball, and a 
letter placed beneath a cairn of stones. They had pre- 
viously tried to deposit the stores at Port Bowen, and 
Port Neale, but were prevented approaching them by 
the ice. On the 30th of August, the North Star saw 
and spoke the schooner Prince Albert, Commander 
Forsyth, in Possession Bay. On the 31st, a boat was 
sent to the Prince Albert, when Commander Forsyth 
came on board and reported that he had also been to 
Port Neale, but had not been able to enter for the ice, 
and had found one of the American ships sent out to 
search for Sir John Franklin ashore in Barrow's Strait, 
that he had tendered assistance, which had been de- 
clined by the American commander, as, his ship being 



294 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

iininjnrcd, lie believed his own crew competent to get 
lier off. Commander Forsyth reported that Captain 
Austin had proceeded to Pond's Bay in the Intrepid, 
tender to the Assistance, to land letters. The North 
Star went on to Pond's Bay, but could not find any in 
dication of Caj^tain Austin's having been there. It is 
conjectured that he had passed the appointed spot in a 
fog. The North Star's people sufi:ered much from the 
intense cold, but only lost five hands during her peril- 
ous trip and arctic winter quarters. She left there on 
September 9th, and reached Spithead on the 28th of 
SejDtember, 1850. Since his return Mr. Saunders has 
been appointed Master Attendant of the Dock-yard at 
Malta. The Admiralty have received dispatches from 
Captain Sir J. Ross, Captain Penny, and Captain Om- 
maney. Captain Ommaney, in the Assistance, dating 
from ofi:* Lancaster Soimd, latitude 75° 46' N., longi- 
tude 75° 49' W., states that some Esquimaux had de- 
scribed to him a ship being hauled in during the last 
winter, and, on going to the spot, he found, from some 
pa^^ers left, that it was the North Star. lie was pro- 
ceeding to search in Lancaster Sound. Captain Penny, 
of the Lady Franklin, writing from Lancaster Sound, 
August 21, states, that having heard on the 18th from 
Captain Austin of a report from the Esquimaux, that 
Sir John Franklin's ships had been lost forty miles 
north, and the crews murdered, he went with an inter- 
preter, but could find no evidence for the rumor, and 
came to the conclusion that the whole story had been 
founded on the North Star's wintering there. He con- 
sidered that his interpreter, M. Petersen, had done much 
good by exposing the fallacy of the story of Sir J 
Boss's Esquimaux. 

IIer Majesty's Ships "Enterprise" and "Investiga 
tor" under Captain Collinson. 

The Enterprise and Investigator were fitted out agair 
immediately on their return "home, and placed undei 
tlie charge of Captain B. Collinson, C. B., with the fol 



SiJCOND fRtP O^ KNTTSRPRISE ANt) tNrESTlGATOK. 295 

lowing oflScers attached, to proceed to Behring's Strait. 
to resume the search in that direction : — 

Enterprise^ 340 tons. 

Captain — R. Collinson. 

Lieutenants — G. A. Phayre,* J. J. Barnard,* and 

C. T. Jago. 
Master — K. T. G. Legg. 
Second Master — Francis Skead. 
Mate — M. T. Parks. 
Surgeon — Robert Anderson.* 
Assistant-Surgeon — Edward Adams.* 
Clerk in Charge — Edward Whitehead.* 
Total complement, QQ. 

Investigator. 

Commander — R. J. M'Clure.* 
Lieutenants — W. Bf. Haswell and S. G. CresswelL* 
Mates — H. H. Saintsbury and R. J. Wyniatt. 
Second Master — Stephen Court.* 
Surgeon — Alexander Armstrong, M. D. 
Assistant-Surgeon — Hy. Piers. 
Ckrk in Charge — Joseph C. Paine. 
Total complement, QQ. 

Those officers marked with a star had been with the 
ships in their last voyage. 

These vessels sailed from Plymouth on the 20th of 
January, 1850. A Mr. Micrtsching, a Moravian mis- 
sionary, was appointed to the Enterprise, as interpreter. 
This gentleman is in the prime of life, of robust health, 
inured, by a service of five years in Labrador, to the 
hardships and privations of the arctic regions, and sufli- 
ciently acquainted with the language and manners of 
the Esquimaux to be able to hold friendly and unre- 
served intercourse with them. 

The Livestigator and the Enterprise were at the 
Sandwich Islands on June 29th. Captain Collinson 
purposed sailing in a few days, and expected to reach 
the ice about the 8th of July. Prior to his arrival. 



'296 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERlT 

numerous whalers Lad started for the Strait, one in par 
ticular, under the command of a Captain Roys, witli 
the expressed intention of endeavoring to earn the 
Franklin reward. 

These vessels are intended to penetrate, if possible, to 
»;he western extremity of Melville Island, there to winter, 
and make further search, in the spring of 1851, for the 
crews of the lost ships. 

In a letter from Captain Collinson to Commander Mc 
Clure, dated Oahu, June 29th, 1850, with a sight of 
which I have been favored at the Admiralty, he thus 
describes his intentions — "I intend making the pack 
close to the American shore, and availing myself of the 
first favorable opening west of the coast stream ; pressing 
forward toward Melville Island. In the event of meet- 
ing land, it is most probable that I would pursue the 
southern shore." 

The latest letter received from Commander McCluro 
IS dated Kotzebue Sound, July 27th, 1850, and the 
following is an extract ; — 

" You will be glad to learn that to this we have been 
higlily favored, carrying a fair wind from Whoa, which 
place we left on the 4th. We passed the Aleutian 
Islands on the 20th, in 172° 30' W., and got fairly 
tlirough the Straits to-day, and we consider we are upon 
our ground ; the only detriment has been very dense 
fogs, which have rendered the navigation of the islands 
exceedingly nervous work ; but as the object to be 
achieved is of so important a nature, all hazards must 
be run to carry out the intentions of those at home, 
which have very fortunately terminated without acci- 
dent. We are now making the most of our wind, and 
we hope to meet an American whaler, of which I be- 
lieve there are a great nurnl^er fishing this season, and 
to whom we must intrust our last dispatches. Sincerely 
do I trust tliat, ere we return, some tidings of poor Sii 
John and his noble companions may reward our search ; 
which will render the long-sought for passage, should 
it be our fortune to make it, one of the most memorable 
in the annals of our times, and relieve many an anxioua 
breast " 



SECX)ND TRIP OF ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR. liO'7 

Dispatches have been received at the Admiralty froir 
Captain Kellet, C. B., of her Majesty's ship Herald, 
dated at sea, the 14:th of October, 1850, on his return 
from Behring's Strait. The Herald had commimicated 
with her Majesty's ship Plover, on the 10th of July, at 
Chamisso Island, where the Plovef had passed the pre- 
ceding winter. The two ships proceeded to the north 
ward until they sighted the pack-ice, when the Herald 
returned to Cape Lisburne, in quest of Captain Collin- 
son's expedition, and on the 31st fell in with her Maj- 
esty's ship Investigator, which had made a surprisingly 
short passage of twenty-six days from the Sandwich 
Islands. The Herald remained cruising off Cape Lis- 
burne, and again fell in with the Plover on the 13th of 
A-Ugust, on her return from Point Barrow, Commandei 
Moore having coasted in Ms boats, and minutely exam- 
ined the several inlets as far as that point from Icy Capo 
without gaining any intelligence of the missing expedi- 
tion. Commander Moore and his boat's crew had suf- 
fered severely from exposure to cold. Captain Kellet, 
having fully victualed the Plover, ordered her to winter 
in Grantley Harbor (her former anchorage at Chamisso 
Island not being considered safe,) and tl eu returned to 
the southward on his way to Englanc^ 

Dispatches have also been received from Captain Col 
linson, C. B., of her Majesty's ship Enterprise, and 
Commander M'Clure, of her Majesty's ship Investigator 
of which the following are copies : — 

" Her Majesty^ s Ship ' Enterprise,^ 
''Po7t Clarence, Sept. 13, 1850. 

"Sir, — I have the honor to transmit an account of 
the proceedings of her Majesty's ship under my com 
mand since leaving Oahu on the 30th of June. 

"Being delayed by light winds, we only reached the 
western end of the Aleutian Chain by the 29th of July, 
and made the Island of St. Lawrence on the 11th ot 
August, from whence I shaped a course for Cape Lis- 
burne, in anticipation of falling in with the Herald or 



2^^ PROGRESS OF ARCJTtC DISCOVERY. 

the Plover. Not, however, seeing either of these veB> 
Bels, and finding nothing deposited on shore, I went on 
to Wainwright Inlet, the last rendezvous appointed. 
Here we communicated on the 15th, and being alike 
unsuccessful in obtaining any information, I stood tc 
the north, made the ice following morning, and reached 
the latitude 72° 40' N. in the meridian of 159° 30' W., 
without serious obstruction. Here, however, the pack 
became so close that it was impossible to make way in 
any direction except to the southward. Having extri- 
cated ourselves by noon on the 19th, we continued to 
coast along the edge of the main body, which took a 
southeasterly trend, running through the loose streams, 
so as not to lose sight of tight pack. At 4 a. m. on the 
20th we were in the meridian of Point Barrow, and 
twenty-eight miles to the north of it, when we found 
open water to the 'N. E., in which we sailed, without 
losing sight of the ice to the north until the morning 
of the 21st, when we were obstructed by a heavy bar- 
rier trending to the southwest. A thick fog coming on, 
we made a board to the north, in order to feel the pack 
edge in th-e upper part of the bight, and not to leave 
any part unex| ^ored. Having satisfied myself that no 
opening existea ..i this direction, we bore away to the 
south, running through heavy floes closely packed, and 
pushing to the eastward when an opportunity offered. 
In this, however, we were unsuccessful, being com- 
pelled to pursue a westerly course, the floes being verj 
heavy and hummocky. By 8 p. m. we were within 
thirty miles of the land, and having clear weather, 
could see the ice closely packed to the south that left 
no doubt in my mind that a stop was put to our pro- 
ceeding in this direction, by the ice butting so close on 
the shoal coast as to leave no chance that our progress 
along it would justify the attempt to reach Cape Bath- 
urst, a distance of 570 miles, during the remaining 
portion of this season; and finding this opinion was 
coincided in by those officers on board qualified to 
form an opinion on the subject, I determii:ed to lose 
no time in communicatino- vdtli Point Barrow, but to 



SECOND TRIP OF ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR. 299 

attempt the passage further north, in hopes that the 
lane of water seen last year by the Herald and Plover 
would aiford me an opening to the eastward. I there- 
fore reluctantly proceeded again .to the west, and turn- 
ing the pack edge fifteen miles further to the south 
than it was on the day after we left Wainwright Inlet, 
we followed the edge of a loose pack greatly broken 
up, until we reached 163° W. long., when it took a 
sudden turn to the north, in which direction we fol- 
lowed it until the morning of the 2Tth, when we were 
in latitude 73° 20', and found the pack to the westward 
trending southerly. I therefore plied to the eastward, 
endeavoring to make way, but such was its close con- 
dition that we could not work, although we might have 
warped through, had the condition of the ice in that 
direction afforded us any hope ; but this, I am sorry to 
say, was not the case, and, on the contrary, the further 
we entered, the larger the floes became, leaving us, in 
thick weather, often in great difficulty where to find a 
lane. On the 29th the thermometer having fallen to 
28°, and there being no prospect of our being able to 
accomplish any thing toward the fulfillment of their 
Lordships' instructions this season, I bore aw^ay foj- 
Point Hope, where I arrived on the 31st, and found a 
bottle deposited by the Herald, which informed me 
that it was intended to place the Plover in Grantley 
Harbor this season. I accordingly proceeded thither, 
with the view of taking her place for the winter, and 
enabling Commander Moore to recruit his ship's com- 
pany by going to the southward. On my arrival I 
found her inside, preparing her winter quarters, and 
having examined and buo^^ed the bar, I attempted to 
take this vessel inside, but failed in doing so, owing 
to the change of wind from south to north having re- 
duced the depth of water four feet, and had to relieve 
the ship of 100 tons, which was quickly done by the 
opportune arrival of the Herald, before she was re- 
leased from a very critical position. The tides being 
irregular, the rise and fall depending principally on 
the wind, and that wind which occasions the highe^^t 

19 M 



300 PflOGKESS OF AitCTIC DISCciVEKl. 

water producing a swell on the bar, it became a ques* 
tion whether a considerable portion of the ensuing 
season might not be lost in getting the ship out of 
Grantley Harbor ; and on consulting Captains Kellet 
and Moore, finding it to be their opinion, founded on 
the experience of two years, that the whalers coming 
from the south pass through the Strait early in June, 
whereas the harbors are blocked until the middle of 
July, I have come to the conclusion that I shall better 
perform the important duty confided in me by return- 
ing to the south, and replenishing my provisions, in- 
stead of wintering on the Asiatic Shore, where there 
is not a prospect of our being of the slightest use to 
the missing expedition. It is therefore my intention 
to proceed to Hong Kong, it being nearer than Valpa- 
raiso, and the cold season having set in, my stores and 
provisions will not be exposed to the heat of a double 
passage through the tropics ; and as I shall not leave 
until the 1st of April, I may receive any further in- 
structions their Lordships may please to communicate. 

"The Plover has been stored and provisioned, and 
such of her crew as are not in a fit state to contend 
with the rigor of a further stay in these latitudes have 
been removed, and replaced by Captain Kellet, and the 
j)aragraphs referring to her in my instructions fulfilled. 

"I have directed Commander Moore to communi- 
cate annually with an Island in St. Lawrence Bay, in 
latitude 65° 38' IST., and longitude 170° 43' W., which 
is much resorted to by the whalers, and where any 
communication their Lordships may be pleased to send 
may be deposited by them, as they are not in the 
habit of cruising on this side of the Strait ; and I have 
requested Captain Kellet to forward to the Admiralty 
all the information on this head he may obtain at the 
Sandwich Islands. 

*' It is my intention to proceed again to the north,, 
and remain in the most eligible position for aftbrding 
assistance to the Investigator, which vessel, having 
been favored with a surprising passage from the Sand- 
wich Islands, was fallen in with by the Herald on the 



SECOND TRIP OF ENTERl'MSE ANT) IN VESTlxirLTOK. 301 

31st of July, off Point Hope, and again on the 5tli of 
August, by tlie Plover, in latitude Y0° 44' N., and lon- 
gitude 159° 52' W., when she was standing to the north 
under a press of sail, and in all probability reached 
the vicinity of Point Barrow, fifteen days previous to 
the Enterprise, when Captain M'Clure, having the 
whole season before him, and animated with the de 
termination so vividly expressed in his letter to Cap 
tain Kellett, has most likely taken the inshore route, 
and I hope before this period reached Cape Bathurst ; 
but as he will be exposed to the imminent risk of being 
forced on a shoal shore and compelled to take to his 
boats, I shall not forsake the coast to the northward 
of Point Hope until the season is so far advanced as 
to insure their having taken up their winter quarters 
for this season. 

"I have received from my officers and ship's com- 
pany that assistance and alacrity in the performance 
of their duty, which the noble cause in which we are 
engaged must excite, and I have the satisfaction to re- 
port that (under the blessing of God) owing to the 
means their Lordships have supplied in extra clothing 
and provisions, we are at present without a man on 
the sick list, notwithstanding the lengthened period of 
our voyage. 

"I have, &c., 

Richard Collinson, Captain. 

*'The Secretary of the Admiralty." 



^Her MaJGsty^s Discovery -ship ''Investigator^^ at sea^ 
latitude 51° 26' iT., longitude 172° 35' TT., Jtoly 20. 

Sir, — As I have received instructions from Captain 
CoUinson, C. B., clear and unembarrassing, (a copy of 
which I inclose,) to proceed to Cape Lisburne in the 
hope of meeting him in that vicinity, as he anticipates 
being detained a day or two by the Plover in Kotzebue 
Sound, it is unnecessary to add that every exertion shall 
be made to reach that rendezvous, but can scarce ven- 
ture to hope that even under very favorable circunv 



802 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVER!. 

stances 1 shall be so fortunate as to accomplish it ere 
the Enterprise will have rounded that cape, J&*om her 
superior sailing, she hitherto having beaten us by eight 
days to Cape V irgins, and from Magellan Strait to Oahu 
six. It is, therefore, under the probable case that this 
vessel may form a detached part of the expedition that 
I feel it my duty to state, for the information of the 
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the course 
whicli, under such a contingency, I shall endeavor to 
pursue, and have to request that you will lay the same 
before their Lordships. 

" 1. After passing Cape Lisburne, it is my intention 
to keep in the open water, which, from the different 
reports that I have read, appears about this season of 
the year to make between the American coast and the 
main pack as far to the northward as the 130th meridian, 
unless a favorable opening should earlier appear in the 
ice, which would lead me to infer that I might push 
more directly for Banks' Laind, which I think is of the 
utmost importance to thoroughly examine. In the event 
of thus far succeeding, and the season continuing favor- 
able for further operations, it would be my anxious 
desire to get to the northward of Melville Island, and 
resume our search along its shores and the islands adja- 
cent as long as the navigation can be carried on, and 
then secure for the winter in the most eligible position 
which (fffers. 

" 2. In the ensuing spring, as soon as it is practicable 
for traveling parties to start, I should dispatch as many 
as the state of the crew will admit of in different direc- 
tions, each being provided with forty days' provisions, 
with directions to examine minutely all bays, inlets and 
islands toward the northeast, ascending occasionally 
some of the highest points of land, so as to be enabled 
to obtain extended views, being particularly cautious in 
tlieir advance to observe any indication of a break up in 
the ice, so that their return to the ship may be effected 
without hazard, even before the expenditure of theii 
provisions would otherwise rwider it necessary. 

" 8, Supposing the parties to have returne<? withonf 



SECOND TRIP OF ENTEKPRISE AND INVESTIGATOll. 303 

obtaining any clue of the absent ships, and the vessel 
liberatea about the 1st of August, my object would then 
be to push on toward Wellington Inlet, assuming that 
that channel communicates with the Polar Sea, and 
search both its shores, unless in doing so some indication 
should be met with to show that parties from any of 
Captain Austin's vessels had previously done so, when 
I should return, and endeavor to penetrate in the direc- 
tion of Jones' Sound, carefully examining every place 
that was j)racticable. Should our efforts to reach this 
point be successful, and in the route no traces are dis- 
cernible of the long missing expedition, I should not 
then be enabled longer to divest myself of the feelings, 
painful as it must be to arrive at such a conclusion, that 
all human aid would then be perfectly unavailing ; and 
therefore, under such a conviction, I would think it my 
duty, if possible, to return to England, or at all events 
endeavor to reach some port that would insure that ob- 
ject upon the following year. 

" 4. In the event of this being our last communica- 
tion, I would request you to assure their lordships that 
no apprehensions whatever need be entertained of our 
safety until the autumn of 1854, as we have on board 
three years of all species of provisions, commencing 
from the 1st of September proximo, which, without 
much deprivation, may be made to extend over a period 
of four years ; moreover, whatever is killed by the hunt- 
ing parties, I intend to issue in lieu of the usual rations, 
which will stiU further protract our resources. 

" It gives me great pleasure to say that the good 
effects of the fruit and vegetables, (a large quantity of 
which we took on board at Oahu,) are very perceptible 
in the increased vigor of the men, who at this moment 
are in as excellent condition as it is possible to desire, 
and evince a spirit of confidence and a cheerfulness of 
disposition which are beyond alf appreciation. 

" 5. Should difficulties apparently insurmountable en- 
compass our progress, so as to render it a matter of 
doubt whether the vessel could be extricated, T should 
deem it expedient in that case not to hazard the liveei 



304 PKOGEESS OF AEOTIC DISCOVERY. 

of those intrusted to my charge after the winter of 1852, 
but in the ensuing spring quit the vessel with sledgea 
and boats, and make the best of our way either to 
Pond's Bay, Leopold Harbor, the Mackenzie, or for 
whalers, according to circumstances. 

" Finally. In this letter I have endeavored to give an 
outline of what I wish to accomplish, (and what, under 
moderately favorable seasons, appears to me attainable,) 
the carrying out of which, however, not resting upon 
human exertions, it is impossible even to surmise if any, 
or what, portion may be successful. But my object in 
addressing you is to place their Lordships in possession 
of my intentions up to the latest period, so far as possi- 
ble, to relieve their minds from any unnecessary anxiety 
as to our fate ; and having done this, a duty which is 
incumbent from the deep sympathy expressed by their 
Lordships, and participated in by all classes of our 
countrymen, in the interesting object of this exj^edition, 
I have only to add, that with the ample resources which 
a beneficent government and a generous country have 
phiced at our disposal, (not any thing that can add to 
our comfort being wanting,) we enter upon this distin- 
guished service witli a firm determination to carry out, 
as far as in our feeble strength we are permitted, their 
benevolent intentions. 

" I have, (fee, 
"Robert M'Clure, Commander." 



^^Her Majesty^ s ship ^Enterpriser 
"dahu,j2me 29, 1S50. 

"Memorandum. — As soon as Her Majesty's ship under 
your command is fully complete with provisions, fuel, 
and water, you will make the best of your way to Cape 
Lisburne, keeping a good look-out for the Herald, or 
casks, and firing guns in foggy weather, after passing 
Lawrence Bay. The whalers also may afford you infor- 
mation of our progress. 

" Should you obtain no intelligence, you will under 
stand that I intend to make the pack close to the Ameri 



DISPATCHES FBOM ENTEBPEISE AND ISr\ ICiSTIGATOR. 305 

can shore, and pursue the first favorable opening west 
of the Coast stream, pressing forward toward Melvilln 
Island. In the event of meeting land, it is most probr 
ble that I would pursue the southern shore, but conspii 
uous marks will be erected, if practicable, and informs 
tion buried at a ten-foot radius. 

" As it is necessary to be prej)ared for the contiri 
gency of your not being able to follow by the ice clos 
ing in, or the severity of the weather, you will in that 
case keep the Investigator as close to the edge of the 
pack as is consistent with her safety, and remain there 
until the season compels you to depart, when you will 
look into Kotzebue Sound for the Plover, or informa- 
tion regarding her position ; and having deposited un- 
der her charge a twelve month's provisions, you will 
proceed to Valparaiso, replenish, and return to the 
Sti'ait, bearing in mind that the months of June and 
July are the most favorable. 

" A letter from the hydrographer relative to the vari- 
ation of the compass is annexed ; and you will bear in 
mind that the value of these observations will he greatly 
enhanced by obtaining the variation with the ship's 
head at every second or fourth point round the coii#- 
pass occasionally, and she should be swung for devia- 
tion in harbor as often as opportunity may offer. 

" Should you not find the Plover, or that any casualty 
has happened to render her inefficient as a depot, yoii 
will take her place ; and if, (as Captain Kellett sup- 
poses,) Kotzebue Sound has proved too exposed for a 
winter harbor, you will proceed to Grantley Harbor, 
leaving a notice to that effect on Chamisso Island. 
The attention of your oflicers is to be called, and you 
will read to your ship's company, the remarks of Sir 
J. Richardson concerning the communication with the 
Esquimaux, contained in the arctic report received at 
Plymouth. 

" Your operations in the season 1851, cannot be 
guided by me, nor is there any occasion to urge you to 
proceed to the northeast ; yet it will be highly desir- 
able, previous to entering the pack, that you completed 



306 PB0GKES8 OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

provisions from whalers, and obtained as much reindeei 
meat as possible. Captain Kellett's narrative will point 
out where the latter is to be had in most abundance, 
and "vyhere coal can be picked up on the beach ; but 
husband the latter article during the winter, by using 
all the drift-wood in your power. 

" In the event of leaving the Strait this season, you 
will take any weak or sickly men out of the Plover, 
and replace them from your crews, aifording Com- 
mander Moore all the assistance in* your power, and 
leaving with him Mr. Miertsching, the interpreter ; in- 
structions with regard to whose accommodations you 
have received, and will convey to the captain of the 
Plover. " Richard Collinsok. 

" To Commander If Glure^ of her 
Majesty^s ship ' Investigator.'^ 

" Should it be the opinion of Commander Moore that 
the services of the Investigator's ship's company in ex- 
ploring parties during the spring would be attended 
with material benefit to the object of the expedition, 
he will, notwithstanding these orders, detain you for 
tjiat purpose ; but care must be taken that your effi- 
ciency as a sailing vessel is not crippled by the parties 
not returning in time for the opening of the sea. 

" R. C." 



" Her Majesty^ s discovery ship ' Investigator^^ July 
28, 1850. Kotzebue Sound, latitude 06° 54' X 
longitude 168° W. 

" Sir, — I have the honor to acquaint you, for the in- 
formation of the Lords Commissioners of the Admi- 
ralty, that to this date we have had a most excellent 
run. Upon getting clear of Oahu, on the morning of 
the 5th, we shaped a course direct for the Aleutian 
group, passing them in 172° 40' W., upon the evening 
of the 20th ; continued our course with a fine south- 
easterly breeze, but extremely thick and foggy weather, 
(which retarded the best of our way being made.) Got 
fairly out of Behring's Strait upon the evening of thy 



VOYAGE Oi* THJE AOVEli, ETC. SOT 

07th, and are now in a fair way of realizing tlieir Lord- 
ships' expectations of reaching the ice by the begin- 
ning of August, our progress being advanced by the 
favorable circumstances of a jBne southerly wind and 
tolerably clear weather. The latter we have known 
nothing of since the 19th, which, I can assure you, ren- 
dered the navigation among the islands a subject of 
much and deep anxiety, seldom having a horizon above 
4:80 yards, that just enabled the dark outline of the land 
to be observed and avoided. 

" It is with much satisfaction that I report the good 
qualities of this vessel, having well tried her in the 
heavy gales experienced during five weeks off Cape 
Horn, and in moderate weather among the intricate 
navigation of these islands, where so much depended 
upon her quick obedience to the helm, although ladeu 
with every species of stores and provisions for upward 
of three years. From these circumstances I am, there- 
fore, fully satisfied she is as thoroughly adapted for this 
service as could be reasonably wished. 

" I have not seen any thing of the Enterprise, nor is 
it my intention to lose a moment by waiting off Cape 
Lisburne, but shall use my best endeavors to carry out 
the intentions contained in my letter of the 20th, of 
which I earnestly trust their Lordships will approve. 

" I am hap23y to be able to state that the whole crew 
are in excellent health and spirits, and every thing as 
satisfactory as it is possible to desire. 

" I have, &c., 
" Robert M'Cluee, Commander. 

" The Seereta/ry of the Admiralty?^ 

Voyage of H. M. S. " Plover," and Boat Expeditions 
insTDER Commander Ptjllen, 1848-51. 

In the copy of the instructions issued from the Ad- 
miralty to Lieutenant, (now Commander,) Moore, of 
the Plover, dated 3d of January, 1848, he was directed 
to make the best of his way to Petropaulowski, touch- 
ing at Panama, where she was to be ioined by H. M. 



508 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

S. Herald, and afterward both vessels were to proceed 
to Beliring's Strait, where they were expected to arrive 
about the 1st of July, and then push along the Ameri- 
can coast, as far as possible, consistent with the cer- 
tainty of preventing the ships being beset by the ice. 
The PJover was then to be secured for the winter in 
some safe and convenient port from whence boat par- 
ties might be dispatched, and the Herald was to return 
and transmit, via Panama, any intelligence necessary 
to England. Great caution was ordered to be observed 
in communicating with the natives in the neighlx)rliood 
of Kotzebue Sound, should that quarter be visited, as 
the people in that part of the p.ountry differ in charac- 
ter from the ordinary Esquimaux, in being compara- 
tively a fierce, agile, and suspicious race, well armed, 
with knives, &c., for offense, and 2^1'one to attack. 
They were also ordered to take interpreters or guides 
from a small factory of the Russian- American Company 
in Korton Sound. 

The Plover was safely ensconced for the winter of 
1849-50 in Kotzebue Sound, after the termination of a 
hard season's work. She had, conjointly with the Her- 
ald, discovered to the north of Behring's Strait, two 
islands, and several apparently disconnected patclies 
of very elevated ground. Lieut. Pullen had previously 
quitted her off Wainwright Inlet, with four boats, for 
the purpose of prosecuting his adventurous voyage 
along the coast to the mouth of the Mackenzie River, 
where he arrived safely on tlie 26th of August, after a 
perilous navigation of thirty-two days, but had obtained 
no clue or intelligence regarding the prime object of his 
expedition. At a later date he encountered at Fort 
Simpson, higher up the river. Dr. Rae, and gathered 
from tha^, gentleman that the party led by him down 
the Coppermine, with the view of crossing over to Yic 
fcoria or WoHaston Land, had, owing to the unusual 
difficulties created by the more than customary rigor of 
the season, met with entire failure ; the farthest point 
attained being Cape Krusenstern. 

•Lieut. Pullen is occupied during the present year in 



Voyage of the plovee, etc. 309 

a journey from the moutli of the Mackenzie eastward, 
along the arctic coast, as far as Cape Bathurst, and this 
being successfully accomplished, he purposes attempt- 
ing to cross the intervening space to Banks' Land. He 
is furnished with two boats, both open. 

Lieut. W. H. Hooper, one of the party, in a recent 
letter to his father in London, writing from Great Slave 
Lake, under date June 27, 1850, gives some further de- 
tails of their proceedings. Having had considerable 
trouble and a slight skirmish with some parties of Es- 
quimaux, they were obliged to be continually on the 
watch. At the end of August, the party entered the 
Mackenzie River, and in a few days reached one of the 
Hudson's Bay Company's' posts on the Peel River, a 
branch of the Mackenzie, where Commander Pullen 
left Lieut. Hooper and half the party to winter, while 
he proceeded farther up the river to a more important 
post at Fort Simpson. After remaining at Peel's River 
station about a fortnight, Mr. Hooper found that his 
party could not be maintained throughout the winter 
there, and in consequence determined on following 
Capt. Pullen, but was only able to reach Fort E'orman, 
one of his party being frost-bitten on the journey. 
They thence made their way across to Great Bear Lake, 
where they passed the winter, subsisting on fish and 
water. Dr. Rae arrived there as soon as the ice broke 
up, and the party proceeded with him to Fort Simpson. 

On the 20th of June, Commander Pullen and all his 
party left with the company's servants, and the stock of 
furs, on their way to the sea, to embark for England, 
when they were met, on the 25th, by a canoe with Ad- 
miralty dispatches, which caused them to retrace their 
steps ; and they are now on their route by the Great 
Slave Lake to Fort Simpson, and down the Mackenzie 
once more, to the Polar Sea, in search of Sir John 
Franklin. 

" However grieving," Lieut. Hooper adds, " it is to 
be disappointed of returning home, yet I am neverthe- 
less delighted to go again, and think that we do not 
hopelessly undertake another search, since our intended 



SIO PROGRESS Ot ARCTIC MSCOY^RY. 

direction is considered the most probable channel foi 
finding the missing shi2)s or crews. We go down the 
Mackenzie, along the coast eastward to Point Bathiirst, 
and thence strike across to Wollaston or Banks' Land. 
The season will, of course, much influence our proceed- 
ings ; but we shall probably return up the hitherto 
unexplored river which runs into the Arctic Ocean 
from Liverpool Bay, between the Coppermine and 
Mackenzie." 

The latest official dispatch from Commander Pullen 
is dated Great Slave Lake, June 28th. He had been 
stopped by the ice, and intended returning to Fort 
Simpson on the 29th. One of his boats was so battered 
about as to be perfectly useless ; he intended patching 
up the other, and was also to receive a nev7 boat be- 
longing to the Hudson's Bay Company, from Fort 
Simpson. He had dismissed two of his party, as they 
were both suffering from bad health, but proposed en- 
gaging, at Fort Good Hope, two Hare Indians as hunt- 
ers and guides, one of whom had accompanied Messrs. 
Dease and Simpson on their trips of discovery in 1838 
and 1839. This would augment the party to seventeen 
persons in all. 

" My present intentions," he says, " are to proceed 
down tlie Mackenzie, along the coast, to Cape Bathurst, 
and then strike across for Banks' Land ; my operations 
must then, of course be guided by circumstances, but I 
shall strenuously endeavor to search along all coasts in 
that direction as far and as late as I can with safety 
venture ; returning, if possible, by the Mackenzie, or 
by the Beghoola, which the Indians speak of as being 
navigable, as its head waters are, (according to Sir John 
Richardson,) only a nine-days' passage from Fort Good 
Hope ; to meet which, or a similar contingency, I take 
snow shoes and sledges, &c. 

" In conclusion, I beg to assure their Lordships of 
my earnest determination to carry out their views to 
the utmost of my ability, being confident, from the 
eagerness of the party, tliat no pain.s will be spared, no 
necessary labor avoided, and, by God's blessing, wo 



troYAG^ o:^ TiiE Plover, etc. ^11 

hope to be successful in discovering some tidings of our 
gallant countrymen, or even in restoring tliem to their 
native land and anxious relatives." 

Mr. Chief Factor Eae was about to follow Com- 
mander PuUen and his party from Portage La Loche. 

Dr. Richardson observes that " Commander PuUen 
will require to be fully victualed for at least 120 days 
from the 20th of July, when he may be expected to 
commence his sea voyage ; which, for sixteen men, will 
require forty-five bags of pemmican of 90 lbs. each. 
This is exclusive of a further supply which he ought to 
take for the relief of any of Franklin's people he may 
have the good fortune to find. After he leaves the 
main-land at Cape Bathurst, he would have no chance 
of killing deer till he makes Banks' Land, or some in- 
tervening island ; and he must provide for the chance 
of being caught on the floe ice, and having to make his 
way across by the very tedious portages, as fully de- 
scribed by Sir W. E. Parry in the narative of his most 
adventurous boat voyage north of Spitzbergen. 

" Mr. Rae can give Commander PuUen the fullest 
information respecting the depots of pemmican made 
on the coast. 

" With respect to Commander PuUen's return from 
sea, his safest plan will be to make for the Mackenzie ; 
but should circumstances place that out of his power, 
the only other course that seems to me to be practicable 
is for him to ascend a large river which falls into the 
bottom of Liverpool Bay, to the westward of Cape Ba- 
thurst. This river, which is named the Begloola Dessy 
bv the Indians, runs parallel to the Mackenzie, and in 
the latitude of Fort Good Hope, {66'' 30' IT.,) is not 
above five or six days' journey from that post. Hare 
Indians, belonging to Fort Good Hope, might be en 
gaged to hunt on the banks of the river till the arrival 
of the party. The navigation of the river is unknown ; 
but even should Commander Pullen be compelled to 
quit his boats, his Indian hunters, (of which he should 
at least engage two for his sea voyage,) will support 
and guide his party. Wood and animals are most cer- 
tainly found on the l>anks of rivers. 



312 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCO VERt. 

" It is not likely that under any circumstances Com* 
mander Pullen should desire to reach the Mackenzie, 
by way of the Coppermine River, and this could be 
effected only by a boat being placed at Dease River, 
for the transport of the party over Great Bear Lake. 
This would require to be arranged previously with 
Mr. Rae ; and Commander Pullen should not be 
later in arriving at Fort Confidence than the end of 
September." 

Voyage of the " Lady Fraitklin " and " Sophia," 
Government Vessels, thstder the command of Mk. 
Penny, 1850-51. 

A vessel of 230 tons, named the Lady Franklin, fit- 
ted out at Aberdeen, with a new brig as a tender, built 
at Dundee, and named the Sophia, in hontT of Miss 
S. Cracroft, the beloved and attached niece of Lady 
Franklin, and one of the most anxious watchers for 
tidings of the long missing adventurers, were purchased 
by the government last year. 

The charge of this expedition was intrusted to Cap- 
tain Penny, formerly commanding the Advice whaler, 
and who has had much experience in the icy seas, hav- 
ing been engaged twenty-eight years, since the age of 
twelve, in the whaling trade, and in command of ves- 
sels for fourteen years ; Mr. Stewart was placed in 
charge of the Sophia. 

The crew of the Lady Franklin number twenty-five, 
and that of the Sophia, twenty, all picked men. 

These ships sailed on the 12th of April, 1850, pro- 
visioned and stored for three years. They were pro- 
vided with a printing press, and every appliance to 
relieve the tedium of a long sojourn in the icy regions. 

In the instructions issued by the Admiralty, it is 
stated that in accepting Captain Parry's offer of service, 
regard has been had to his long experience in arctic 
navigation, and to the great attention he has paid to 
the subject of the missing ships. 

He was left in a great measure to the exercise of his 



Voyage of the resolute and assistance, etc. 31^ 

own judgment and discretion, in combining the most 
active and energetic search after the Erebus and Terror, 
with a strict and careful regard to the safety of the 
ships and their crews under his charge. He was di- 
rected to examine Jones' Sound at the head of Baffin's 
Bay, and if possible, penetrate through to the Parry 
Islands ; failing in this, he was to try Wellington Strait, 
and endeavor to reach Melville Island. He was to use 
his utmost endeavors, (consistent with the safety of the 
lives of those intrusted to his command,) to succor, in 
the summer of 1850, the party under Sir John Frank- 
lin, taking care to secure his winter-quarters in good 
time ; and 2dly, the same active measures were to be 
used in the summer of 1851, to secure the return of the 
ships under his charge to this country. 

The Lady Franklin was off Cape York, in Baffin's 
Bay, on the 13th of August. From thence she pro- 
ceeded, in company with H. M. S. Assistance, to wol- 
stenholme Sound. She afterward, in accordance with 
her instructions, crossed over to the west with the in- 
tention of examining Jones' Sound, but owing to the 
accumulation of ice, was unable to approach it within 
twenty-five miles. This was at midnight on the 18th. 
She, therefore, continued her voyage to Lancaster 
Sound, and onward to Wellington Channel, where she 
was seen by Commander Forsyth, of the Prince Albert, 
)n the 25th of August, with her tender, and H. M. S. 
Assistance in company, standing toward Cape Hotham. 

Voyage op H. M. Ships " Resolute " and " Assistance," 

WITH THE StEAMEES " PiONEEE " AND " InTREPID " 

AS Tenders, under command of Captain Austin, 
1850-51. 

Two fine teak-built ships of about 500 tons each, th 
Baboo and Ptarmigan, whose names were altered to 
the Assistance and Resolute, were purchased by the 
government in 1850, and sent to the naval yards to be 
oroperly fitted for the voyage to the polar regions. 

Two screw-propeller steamers, intended to accompany 



Si 4 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

these vessels as steam tenders, were also purchased and 
similarly fitted ; their names were changed from the 
Eider and Free Trade to the Pioneer and Intrepid. 

The command of this expedition was intrusted to 
Captain Horatio T. Austin, C. B., who was first Lieu- 
tenant of the Fury, under Commander Hoppner, in 
Captain Sir E. Parry's third voyage, in 1824-26. The 
vessels were provisioned for three years, and their at- 
tention was also directed to the depots of stores lodged 
by Sir James Ross at Leopold Island, and at J^avy 
Board Inlet by the North Star. The ships sailed in 
May, 1850. The officers employed in them were as 
follows : — 

Resolute. 

Captain — Horatio T. Austin, C. B. 

Lieutenants — R. D. Aldrich, and W. H. J. Brewna 

Mates — R. B. Pearse, and W. M. May. 

Purser — J. E. Brooman. 

Surgeon — A. R. Bradford. 

Assistant, ditto — Richard King. 

Midshipmen — C. Bullock, J. P. Cheyne. 

Second Master — G. F. M'Dougall. 

Total complement, 60 men. 

Pioneer., screw steamer. 

Lieut.-Commanding — Sherard Osbom. 
Second Master — J. H. Allard. 
Assistant-Surgeon — F. R. Picthom. 

Assistcmce. 
Captain — E. Ommaney. 
Lieutenants — J. E. EUiot, F. L. M'Clintock^ and 

G. F. Mecham. 
Surgeon — J. J. L. Donnett. 
Assistant, ditto — J. Ward, {a.) 
Mates — R. Y. Hamilton, and J. R. Keane. 
Clerk in Charge — E. 1^. Harrison. 
Second Master — "W. B. Shellabear. 
Midshipman — C. R. Markham. 

Total complement, 00 men. 



VOYAGE OF THE RESOLUTE AND ASSISTANCE, ETC. 315 

Intrepid^ screw steamer. 
Lieut.-Commander — B. Cator. 
Eacli of the tenders had a crew of 30 men. 

Two ot the officers appointed to this expedition, Lieu- 
tenants Browne and M'Glintock, were in the Enterprise 
under Captain Sir James C. Ross in 1848. 

The Emma Eugenia transport was dispatched in ad- 
vance with provisions to the Whale-Fish Islands, to await 
the arrival of the expedition. 

It having been suggested bj some parties that Sir 
John Franklin might have effected his passage to Mel- 
ville Island, and been detained there with his ships, 
or that the ships might have been damaged by the ice 
in the neighboring sea, and that with his crews he had 
abandoned them and made his escape to that island, 
Captain Austin was specially instructed to use every 
exertion to reach this island, detaching a portion of his 
ships to search the shores of Wellington Channel and 
the coast about Cape Walker, to which point Sir John 
Franklin was ordered to proceed. 

Advices were first received from the Assistance, after 
her departure, dated 5th of July ; she was then making 
her way to the northward. The season was less favoi- 
able for exploring operations than on many previous 
years. But little ice had been met with in Davis' 
Strait, where it is generally found in large quantities, 
BO that obstacles of a serious nature may be expected 
to the northward. Penny's ships had been in company 
with them. 

Ice is an insurmountable barrier to rapid progress ; 
fortifications may be breached, but huge masses of ice, 
200 to 600 feet high, are not to be overcome. 

On the 2d of Jnly the Assistance was towed beneath 
a perpendicular clifi" to the northward of Cape Shackle- 
ton, rising to the height of 1500 feet, which was ob- 
served to be crowded with the foolish guillemots, ( Uria 
troile.) When the ship hooked on to an iceberg for the 
night, a party sent on shore for the purpose brought off 
260 birds and about twenty dozen of their eggs. These 
birds only lay one egg eact 

4\J 



516 mOGKESS OF AKCTIC DISCO VEKY. 

I 

The following official dispatch has been since received 
from Captain Ommaney : — 

^^ Her Majesty'^ s ship ^ Assistances^ off Lancaster Sounds 
latitude 75° 46' iV^., longitude 75° 49' Tf., August 
17, 1850. 

" Sir, — I have the honor to acquaint you, for the in- 
formation of the Lords Commissioners of the Admi- 
ralty, that her Majesty's ship Assistance, and her tender, 
her Majesty's steam- vessel Intrepid, have this day suc- 
ceeded in effecting a passage across to the west water, 
and are now proceeding to Lancaster Sound. Officers 
and crews all well, with fine clear weather, and open 
water as far as can be seen. 

" Agreeably with instructions received from Captain 
H. Austin, we parted company on the 15th instant, at 
one A. M., off Cape Dudley Diggs, as the ice was then 
sufficiently open to anticipate no farther obstruction in 
effecting the north passage. He was anxious to proceed 
to Pond's Bay, and thence take up the examination along 
the south shores of Lancaster Sound, leaving me to 
ascertain the truth of a report obtained from the Esqui- 
maux at Cape York respecting some ship or ships hav- 
ing been seen near Wolstenholme Island, after which to 
proceed to the north shores of Lancaster Sound and 
Wellington Channel. 

" On passing Cape York, (the 14th inst.,) natives were 
seen. By the directions of Captain Austin I landed, 
and communicated with them, when we were informed 
that they had seen a ship in that neighborhood in the 
spring, and that she was housed in. Upon this intelli- 
gence I shipped one of the natives, who volunteered to 
join us as interpreter and guide. 

" On parting with Captain Austin we proceeded 
toward Wolstenholme Island, where I left the ship and 
proceeded in her Majesty's steam- vessel Intrepid into 
Wolstenholme Sound, and by the guidance of the Esqui- 
maux, succeeded in finding a bay about thirteen miles 
Airther in, and sheltered by a prominent headland. In 
the cairns erected here we found a document stating 



V^OYAGE OF THE RESOLUTE AKD ASSISTANCE, ETC. 317 

that the North Star had wintered in the bay, a copy 
of which I have the honor to transmit to their Lord- 
ships. 

" Previous to searching the spot where the l^orth Star 
wintered, I examined the deserted Esquimaux settle- 
ment. At this spot we found evident traces of some 
shij) having been in the neighborhood, from empty pre- 
served meat canisters and some clothes left near a pool 
of water, marked with the name of a corporal belonging 
to the ISTorth Star. 

" Having ascertained this satisfactory information, I 
returned to Wolstenholme Island, where a document was 
deposited recording our proceedings. At 6 a. m., of the 
16th inst., I rejoined the ship, and proceeded at two to 
the westward, and am happy to inform you that the 
passage across has been made without obstruction, tow- 
ing through loose and straggling ice. 

" The expedition was beset in Melville Bay, sur- 
rounded by heavy and extensive floes of ice, from the 
11th of July to the 9th of August, 1850, when, after 
great exertion, a release was effected, and we succeeded 
in reaching Cape York by continuing along the edge of 
the land-ice, after which we have been favored with 
plenty of water. 

" Captain Penny's expedition was in company during 
the most part of the time while in Melville Bay, and uj) 
to the 14th inst., when we left him off Cape Dudley 
Diggs — all well. 

" In crossing Melville Bay we fell in with Sir John 
Ross and Captain Forsyth's expeditions. These Capt. 
Austin has assisted by towing them toward their desti- 
nations. The latter proceeded with him, and the former 
has remained with us. 

" Having placed Sir John Ross in a fair way of 
reaching Lancaster Sound, with a fair wind and open 
water, his vessel has been cast off in this position. I 
shall, therefore, proceed with all dispatch to the exami- 
nation of the north shores of Lancaster Sound and 
Wellington Channel, according to Captain Austin's 
directions. 



«^<i 



318 PKOGEESS OF AKOriC DISCOVERT. 

"I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient 
humble servant. 

" Ebasmus Qmmaney, Captain." 

The Resolute got clear of the Orkneys on the 15th of 
May, and arrived with her consort and the two tenders 
at the Whale-Fish Islands on the 14th of June. 

The Resolute was in Possession Bay on the 17th of 
August. From thence her proposed course was along 
the coast, northward and westward, to Whaler Point, 
situated at the southern extremity of Port Leopold, and 
afterward to Melville Island. 

In order to amuse themselves and their comrades, the 
officers of the Assistance had started a MS. newspaper, 
under the name of the " Aurora Borealis." Many of 
my readers will have heard of the " Cockpit Herald," 
and such other productions of former days, in his Majes- 
ty's fleet. Parry, too, had his journal to beguile the 
long hours of the tedious arctic winter. 

I have seen copies of this novel specimen of the 
'fourth estate," dated Baffin's Bay, June, 1850, in which 
there is a happy mixture of grave and gay, prose and 
verse ; numerous very fair acrostics are published. I 
append, by way of curiosity, a couple of extracts : — 

" What insect that I^oah had with him, were these 
regions named after ? — The arc-tic." 

" To the editor of the Aurora Borealis. 

" Sir, — Having heard from an arctic voyager that he 
has seen ' crows'-nests' in those icy regions, I beg to 
inquire tln-ough your columns, if they are built by the 
crows, {Gorvus tintinndbulus^ which Good sir states to 
utter a metallic bell-like croak? My fast fi-iend begs 
me to inquire when rook shooting commences in those 
diggings ? 

" A ITaturalist. 

[" We would recommend to ' A Naturalist ' a visit to 
these ' crows'-neste,' which do exist in the arctic regions. 
We would also advise his fast friend to investigate 



VOYAGE OF SIR JOHN R068 IN THE FELIX, ETC. 319 

tnese said nests more thoroughly ; he would find them 
tenanted by very old birds (ice quarter-masters,) who 
would not only inform him as to the species of crows 
and the sjDorting season, but would give them a fair 
chance of showing him how a pigeon may be plucked. 
— Editor."] 

VoYAOK OF Captain Sm John Ross in the "Felix" 
PRIVATE Schooner, 1850-61. 

In April, 1850, Captain Sir John Ross having vol- 
unteered his services to proceed in the search, was en- 
abled, by the liberality of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
who contributed 500Z., and public subscription, to leave 
England in the Felix schooner, of 120 tons, with a 
picked crew, and accompanied by Commander C. Ger- 
vans Phillips, R. ]^. She also had the Mary, Sir John's 
own yacht of twelve tons, as a tender. Mr. Abernethy 
proceeded as ice-master, having accompanied Sir John 
in his former voyage to Boothia; and Mr. Sivewright 
was mate of the Felix. The vessels sailed from Scot- 
land on the 23d of May, and reached Holsteinborg in 
June, where Captain Ross succeeded in obtaining a 
Danish interpreter who understood the Esquimaux 
language ; he then proceeded on, calling at the Whale 
Fish Islands, and passing northway through the Way- 
gatt Strait, overtook, on the 10th of August, H. M. 
ships Assistance and Resolute, with their tenders the 
Intrepid and Pioneer,. under the command of Captain 
Austin. 

On the 13th of August, Captain Ommaney in the 
Assistance, and Sir John Ross in the Felix, being 
somewhere off Cape York, observed three male Es- 
quimaux on the ice close by, and with these people 
it was prudently resolved to communicate. Accord- 
ingly, Lieutenant Cator in the Intrepid steamer, tender 
to the Assistance, and Commander Phillips in the 
whale-boat of the Felix, put off on this service. The 
Intrepid's people arrived first, but apparently without 
any means of expressing their desires, so that when tlie 



320 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

boat of the Felix, containing an Esquimaux interpreter, 
joined the party, the natives immediately gave signs 
of recognition and satisfaction, came into the boat with- 
out the least hesitation, and engaged themselves pre- 
sently in a long and animated conversation with theii 
countryman the interpreter. Half an hour was de- 
voted to this interchange of intelligence, but with no 
immediate result, for the interpreter could only. trans- 
late his native language into Danish, and as no person 
in the boat understood Danish, the information re- 
mained as inaccessible as before. In this predicament 
the boats returned with the intention of confronting the 
interpreter — whose christianized name is Adam Beek 
— with Sir John Ross himself. As Sir John, however, 
was pushing ahead in the Felix toward Cape Dudley 
Diggs, and as Adam appeared anxious to disburden 
himself of his newly acquired information, the boats 
dropped on board the Prince Albert, another of the 
exploring vessels in the neighborhood, and there put 
Adam in communication with the captain's steward, 
John Smith, who " understood a little of the language," 
as Sir John Ross says, or " a good deal," as Com- 
mander Phillips says, and who presently gave such an 
account of the intelligence as startled every body on 
board. Its purport was as follows; — ^That in the win- 
ter of 1846, when the snow was falling, two ships were\ 
crushed by the ice a good way off in the direction of 
Cape Dudley Diggs, and afterward burned by a fierce 
and numerous tribe of natives ; that the ships in ques- 
tion were not whalers, and that epaulettes were worn 
by some of the white men ; that a part of the crews 
were drowned, that the remainder were some time in 
huts or tents apart from the natives, that they had guns, 
but no balls, and that being in a weak and exhausted 
condition, they were subsequently killed by the natives 
with darts or arrows. This was the form given to the 
Esquimaux story by John Smith, captain's steward of 
the Prince Albert. Impressed with the importance of 
these tidings, Captain Ommaney and Commander 
Phillips immediately made their report to Captain 



VOYAGE OF SIR JOHN ROSS IN THE FELIX, ETC. 321 

Austin in the Resolute, which was then in company 
with the Felix near Cape Dudley Diggs. Captain Aus- 
tin at once decided upon investigating the credibility 
of the story, and with this view dispatched a message 
to the Lady Franklin, another of the exploring ships, 
which lay a few miles off, and which had on board a 
regular Danish interpreter. This interpreter duly ar- 
rived, but proceeded forthwith to translate the story by 
a statement " totally at variance " with the interpreta- 
tion of " the other," whom, as we are told, he called a 
liar and intimidated into silence ; though no sooner was 
the latter left to himself than he again repeated his 
version of the tale, and stoutly maintained its accuracy. 
Meantime an additional piece of information became 
known, namely, that a certain ship had passed the win- 
ter safely housed in Wolstenholme Sound — a state- 
ment soon ascertained by actual investigation to be 
perfectly true. The following is an extract of a letter 
from — 

Captain Sir John Boss^ R. iV., to Captain W. A. B, 
Hamilton^ R. iV., Secretary of the Admiralty. 

" ' Felix ' discovery yacht ^ off Adiniralty Inlet .^ 
" Lancaster Soimd^ August 22. 

"Sir, — I have to acquaint you, for the information 
of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that the 
Felix discovery yacht, with her tender, the Mary, after 
obtaining an Esquimaux interpreter at Holsteinborg, 
and calling at Whale-Fish Islands, proceeded north way 
through the Waygatt Straits, and overtook her Ma- 
jesty's discovery ships, under the command of Captain 
Austin on the 11th of August ; and on the 12th the 
senior officer and the second in command having cor- 
dially communicated with me on the best mode of 
performing the service on which we are mutually em- 
barked, arrangements were made and concluded for a 
simultaneous examination of every part of the eastern 
side of a northwest passage in which it was probable 
that the missing ships could be bound : documents t* 



322 riiOGRESS of akctio disco veky. 

that effect were exchanged, and subsequently assented 
to by Captains Forsyth and Penny. 

" On the 13th of August natives were discovered on 
the ice near to Cape York, with whom it was deemed 
advisable to communicate. On this service, Lieutenant 
Cator, in the Intrepid, was detached on the part of 
Captain Austin, and on my part Commander Phillips, 
with our Esquimaux interpreter, in the whale-boat of 
the Felix. It was found by Lieutenant Cator that Cap- 
tain Penny had left with the natives a note for Captain 
Austin, but only relative to the state of the navigation ; 
however, when Commander Phillips arrived, the Esqui- 
maux, seeing one apparently of their own nation in the 
whale-boat, came immediately to him, when a long 
conversation took place, the purport of which could 
not be made known, as the interpreter could not ex- 
plain himself to any one, either in the Intrepid or the 
whale-boat, (as he understands only the Danish besides 
his own language,) until he was brought on board the 
Prince Albert, where John Smith, the captain's stew- 
ard of that vessel, who had been some years at the 
Hudson's Bay settlement of Churchill, and understands 
a little of the language, was able to give some expla- 
nation of Adam Peek's information, which was deemed 
of such importance that Captains Ommaney, Phillips, 
and Forsyth, proceeded in the Intrepid to the Hesolute, 
when it was decided by Captain Austin to send for the 
Danish Interpreter of the Lady Franklin, which, hav- 
ing been unsuccessful in an attempt at getting through 
the ice to the westward, was only a few miles distant. 
In the mean time it was known that, in addition to the 
first information, a ship, which could only be the North 
Star, had wintered in Wolstenholme Sound, called by 
the natives Ourinak, and had only left it a month ago. 
This proved to be true, but the interpretation of the 
Dane was totally at variance with the information given 
l)y the other, who, although for obvious reasons he did 
not dare to contradict the Dane, subsequently main- 
tained the truth of his statement, which induced Cap- 
tain Austin to dispatch the Intrepid with Captains 



VOYAGS OF SlR JOHN ROSS m THE FELIX, ETC. 3^3 

Oiiimaney and Phillips, taking with them both our in- 
terpreters, Adam Beek and a joung native who bad 
been persuaded to come as one of the crew of the As- 
sistance, to examine Wolstenholme Sound. In the 
mean time it had been unanimously decided that no 
alteration should be made in our previous arrangement, 
it being obvious that while there remained a chance of 
saving the lives of those of the missing ships who may 
be yet alive, a further search for those who had per- 
ished should be postponed, and accordingly the Reso- 
lute, Pioneer, and Prince Albert parted company on 
the 15th. It is here unnecessary to give the official re- 
ports made to me by Commander Phillips, which are 
of course transmitted by me to the Secretary of the 
Hudson's Bay Company, which, with the information 
written in the Esquimaux language by Adam Beek, 
will no doubt be sent to you for their Lordships' infor- 
mation ; and it will be manifest by these reports that 
Commander Phillips has performed his duty with sa- 
gacity, circumspection, and address, which do him in- 
finite credit, although it is only such as I must have 
expected from so intelligent an officer; and I have 
much satisfaction in adding that it has been mainly 
owing to his zeal and activity that I was able, under 
disadvantai:;; is circumstances, to overtake her Majes- 
ty's ships, vs.. lie by his scientific acquirements and ac- 
curacy in surveying, he has been able to make many 
important corrections and valuable additions to the 
charts of the much -frequented eastern side of Baffin's 
Bay, which has been more closely observed and navi- 
gated by us than by any former expedition, and, much 
to my satisfaction, confirming the latitude aud longi- 
tude of every headland I had an opportunity of laying 
down in the year 1818. 

" I have only to add that I have much satisfaction 
in co-operating with her Majesty's expedition. With 
such support and with such vessels so particularly 
adapted for the service, no exertion shall be wanting 
on my part. But I cannot conclude this letter without 
acknowledging my obligations to Commodore Austin 

N 



S24 



PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERt. 



and Captain Ommaney for the assistance they have af- 
forded me, and for the cordiality and courtesy with 
which I have been treated by these distinguished offi ■ 
cers and others of the ships under their orders. Ani- 
mated as we are with an ardent and sincere desire to 
fescue our imperiled countrymen, I confidently trust 
ihat our united exertions and humble endeavors may, 
mder a merciful Providence, be completely successful. 
"I am, with truth and regard. Sir, your faithful and 
w>bedient servant, 

" John Ross, Captain, R. N." 

By the accounts brought home by Commander For- 
syth from Lancaster Sound, to the 25th of August, it 
is stated that Sir John Ross, in the Felix, intended to 
return to England. 

The ice was at that period very heavy, extending all 
around from Leopold Island, at the entrance of Regent 
Inlet, to Cape Farewell, to the westward, so as to pre- 
vent the possibility of any of the vessels pushing on to 
Cape Walker. When the Prince Albert was between 
Cape Spencer and Cape Lines, in Wellington Channel, 
Mr. Snow went at noon to the mast-head, and saw H. 
M. Ship Assistance as near as possible within Cape 
Hotham, under a press of sail. Her tender, the In- 
trepid, was not seen, but was believed to be with her. 
Captain Penny, with his two ships, the Lady Franklin 
and Sophia, was endeavoring to make his way up Uie 
same Channel, but it was feared the ice would ulti- 
mately be too strong for him, and that he would have 
to return home, leaving Captain Austin's squadron only 
to winter in the ice. 

The American man-of-war brig Rescue was close be 
set with the ice near Cape Bowen. 

The Pioneer was with the Resolute on the 17tb 
August. 



lADY i^BANKLm'S APPfeAi. TO AMERICAN NATION. 325 

American Searching Expedition. — United States' 
Sbips, "Advance" and "Rescue," under the Com- 
mand of Lieutenant De Haven, 1850-51. 

In the spring of 1849, Lady Franklin made a touch 
ing and pathetic appeal to the feelings of the American 
nation, in the following letter to the President of the 
Republic : — 

The Lady of Sir John Franklin to the President. 

^^ Bedford-place.^ London., ^th April., 1849. 

"Sir, — I address myself to you as the head of a 
great nation, whose power to help me I cannot doubt, 
and in whose disposition to do so I have a confidence 
which I trust you will not deem presumptuous. 

"The name of my husband. Sir John Franklin, is 
probably not unknown to you. It is intimately con- 
nected with the northern part of that continent of 
which the American republic forms so vast and con- 
spicuous a portion. When I visited the United States 
three years ago, among the many proofs I received of 
respect and courtesy, there was none which touched 
and even surprised me more than the appreciation 
everywhere expressed to me of his former services in 
geographical discovery, and the interest felt in the en- 
terprise in which he was then known to be engaged." 
***** 

[Her ladyship here gives the details of the departure 

of the expedition, and the measures already taken for 

Its relief.] 

***** 

" I have entered into these details with the view of 
proving that, though the British government has not 
forgotten the duty it owes to the brave men whom it 
has sent on a perilous service, and has spent a very 
large- sum in providing the means for their rescue, yet 
that, owing to various causes, the means actually in 
operation for this purpose are quite inarler|riate to meet 
the extreme exigence of the case; for, it mast be 



^26 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DlSCOVERf . 

remembered, that the missing ships were victualed foi' 
three years only, and that nearly four years have now 
elapsed, so that the survivors of so many winters in the 
ice must be at the last extremity. And also, it must 
be borne in mind, that the channels by which the ships 
may have attempted to force a passage to the westward, 
or which they may have been compelled, by adverse 
circumstances, to take, are very numerous and compli- 
cated, and that one or two ships cannot possibly, in the 
course of the next short summer, explore them all. 

" The Board of Admiralty, under a conviction of this 
fact, has been mduced to offer a reward of 20,000^. 
sterling to any ship or ships, of any country, or to any 
exploring party whatever, which shall render efficient 
assistance to the missing ships, or their crews, or to any 
portion of them. This announcement, which, even if 
the sum had been doubled or trebled, would have met 
with public approbation, comes, however, too late for 
our whalers, which had unfortunately sailed before it 
was issued, and which, even if the news should over- 
take them at their fishing-grounds, are totally unfitted 
for any prolonged adventure, having only a few months' 
provision on board, and no additional clothing. To the 
American whalers, both in the Atlantic and Pacific, I 
look with more hope, as competitors for the prize, be- 
ing well aware of their numbers and strength, their 
thorough equipment, and the bold spirit of enterprise 
which animates their crews. But I venture to look 
even beyond these. I am not without hope that you 
will deem it not unworthy of a great and kindred na- 
tion to take up the cause of humanity which I plead, in 
a national spirit, and thus generously make it your own. 

" I must here, in gratitude, adduce the example of 
the imperial Russian government, which, as I am led 
to hope by his Excellency, the Russian embassador in 
London, who forwarded a memorial on the subject, will 
send out exploring parties this summer, from the Asiatic 
eide of Behring's Strait, northward, in search of the 
lost vessels. It would be a noble spectacle to the 
world, if three great nations, possessed of the widest 



LADY franklin's APPEAL TO AJSIERICAN NATION. 327 

umpires on the face of the globe, were thus to unite 
their efforts in the truly christian work of saving their 
perishing fellow-men from destruction. 

"It is not for me to suggest the mode in which such 
benevolent efforts might best be made. I will only say, 
however, that if the conceptions of my own mind, to 
which I do not venture to give utterance, were realized 
and that in the noble competition which followed, Amer 
ican seamen had the good fortune to wrest from us the 
glory, as might be the case, of solving tne problem of 
the unfound passage, or the still greater glory of saving 
our adventurous navigators from a lingering fate which 
the mind sickens to dwell on, though I should in either 
case regret that it was not my own brave countrymen 
in those seas whose devotion was thus rewarded, yet 
should I rejoice that it was to America we owed our 
restored happiness, and should be forever bound to her 
by ties of affectionate gratitude. 

" I am not without some misgivings while I thus ad- 
dress you. The intense anxieties of a wife and of a 
daughter may have led me to press too earnestly on 
your notice the trials under which we are suffering, 
(yet not we only, but hundreds of others,) and to pre- 
sume too much on the sympathy which we are assured 
is felt beyond the limits of our own land, l^et, if 
you deem this to be the case, you will still find, I am 
sure, even in that personal intensity of feeling, an 
excuse for the fearlessness with which I have throwr 
myself on your generosity, and will pardon the hoir 
age I thus pay to your own high character, and to thr 
of the people over whom you have the distinction t' 
preside. " I have, &c., 

(Sigaed) "Ja:ne FKANKLm." 

To which the following reply was received : — 

Mr. Cla/yton to Lady Jane Franklvn, 

^^ De^a/rtment of State^ Washington^ 
" 2625A April, 1849. 

"Madam, — Your letter to the President of the United 
States, dated April 4th, 1849, lias been received by 



PR0GRT5SS Ot ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

him, and he has instructed me to make to you the fol- 
lowing reply : — 

" The appeal made in the letter with which you have 
honored him, is such as would strongly enlist the sym 
pathy of the rulers and the people of any portion of 
the civilized world. 

" To the citizens of the United States, who share s 
largely in the emotions which agitate the public mind 
in your own country, the name of Sir John Franklin 
has been endeared by his heroic virtues, and the suffer- 
in2:s and sacrifices which he has encountered for the 
benefit of mankind. The appeal of his wife and daugh- 
ter, in their distress, has been borne across the waters, 
asking the assistance of a kindred people to save the 
brave men who embarked in this unfortunate expedi- 
tion ; and the people of the United States, who have 
watched with the deepest interest that hazardous enter- 
prise, will now respond to that a]3peal, by the expression 
of their united wishes that every proper effort may be 
made by this government for the rescue of your hus- 
band and his companions. 

" To accomplish the objects you have in view, the 
attention of American navigators, and especially of 
our whalers, will be immediately invoked. All the in- 
formation in the possession of this government, to 
enal)le them to aid in discovering the missing ships, 
relieving their crews and restoring them to their fami- 
lies, shall be spread far and wide among our people; 
and all that the executive government of the United 
States, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, can 
effect, to meet this requisition on American enterprise, 
skill and bravery, will be promptly undertaken. 

" The hearts of the American people will be deeply 
touched by your eloquent address to their Chief Magis- 
trate, and they will join with you in an earnest prayer 
to Him whose spirit is on the waters, that your husband 
and his companions may yet be restored to their coun 
try and their friends. 

" I have, &c., 
(Signed) " Jcshn M. Clayton." 



LADY FRAJSTKLIN S APPEAL tO AATRBICAJ^ NATION. 329 

A second letter was also addressed by Lady Franklin 
to the President in the close of that year, after the forced 
return of Captain Sir James Ross, from whose active 
exertions so much had been expected — 

The Lady of Sir John Franklin to the President. 
" Spring Gardens^ London^ 11th Dec, 1849. 

"Sir, — I had the honor of addressing myself to 
you, in the month of April last, in behalf of my hus- 
band, Sir John Franklin, his officers and crews, who 
were sent by Her Majesty's government, in the spring 
of 1845, on a maritime expedition for a discovery of 
the northwest passage, and who have never since been 
heard of. 

"Their mysterious fate has excited, I believe, the 
deepest interest throughout the civilized world, but no- 
where more so, not even in England itself, than in the 
United States of America. It was under a deep con- 
viction of this fact, and with the humble hope that an 
appeal to those general sentiments would never be 
made altogether in vain, that I ventured to lay before 
you the necessities of that critical period, and to ask 
you to take up the cause of humanity which I pleaded, 
and generously make it your own. 

" How nobly you, sir, and the American people, 
responded to that appeal, — how kindly and courteously 
that response was conveyed to me, — is known wherever 
our common language is spoken or understood ; and 
though difficulties, which were mainly owing to the 
advanced state of the season, presented themselves after 
your official announcement had been made known to our 
government, and prevented the immediate execution of 
your intentions, yet the generous pledge you had given 
vvas not altogether withdrawn, and hope still remained 
ro me that, should the necessity for renewed measures 
continue to exist, I might look again across the waters 
for the needed succor. 

" A period has now, alas, arrived, when our dearest 
hopes as to the safe return of the discovery ships thig 
autumn are finally crushed by the unex2:)ected, thou<jh 



530 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

forced return of Sir James Ross, without any tidings of 
them, and also by the close of the arctic season. And 
not only have no tidings been brought of their safety or 
of their fate, but even the very traces of their course 
have yet to be discovered ; for such was the concur- 
rence of unfortunate and unusual circumstances attend- 
ing the efforts of the brave and able officer alluded to, 
that he was not able to reach those points where indi- 
cations of the course of discovery ships would most 
probably be found. And thus, at the close of a second 
reason since the departure of the recent expedition of 
search, we remain in nearly the same state of ignorance 
respecting the missing expedition as at the moment of 
its starting from our shores. And in the mean time our 
brave countrymen, whether clinging still to their ships, 
or dispersed in various directions, have entered upon a 
fifth winter in those dark and dreary solitudes, with 
exhausted means of sustenance, while yet their expected 
succor comes not ! 

" It is in the time, then, of their greatest peril, in the 
day of their extremest need, that I venture, encouraged 
by your former kindness, to look to you again for some 
active efforts which may come in aid of those of my 
own country, and add to the means of search. Her 
Majesty's Ministers have already resolved on sending 
an expedition to Behring's Strait, and doubtless have 
other necessary measures in contemplation, supported 
as they are, in every means that can be devised for this 
humane purpose, by the sympathies of the nation, and 
by the generous solicitude which our Queen is known 
to feel in the fate of her brave people imperiled in their 
countrv's service. But, whatever be the measures con- 
tempL^ced by the Admiralty, they cannot be such as 
will leave no room or necessity for more, since it is 
only by the multiplication of means, and those vigorous 
and instant ones, that we can hope, at this last stage, 
and in this last hour, perhaps, of the lost navigators' 
existence, to snatch them from a dreary grave. And 
surely, till the shores and seas of those frozen regions 
have been swept in all directions, or until some memo 



LIEUTENANT OSBOKN's SUGGESTIONS. 331 

rial be found to attest their fate, neither England, who 
sent them out, nor even America, on whose shores they 
have been launched in a cause which has interested the 
world for centuries, will deem the question at rest. 

" May it please God so to move the hearts and wills 
of a great and kindred people, and of their chosen 
Chief Magistrate, that they may join heart and hand 
in the generous enterprise ! The respect and admiration 
of the world, which watches with growing interest every 
movement of your great republic, will follow the chiv- 
alric and humane endeavor, and the blessing of them 
who were ready to perish shall come to you ! 

" I have, &c., 
(Signed) Jane Franklin. 

'''His Excellency the President of the United States. '^'^ 

In a very admirable letter addressed to Lady Frank- 
lin in February, 1850, by Lieut. Sherard Osborn, R. IST., 
occur the following remarks and suggestions, which 
appear to me so explicit and valuable that I publish 
them entire ; — 

'•''Great Ealing^ Middlesex^ 6th February^ 1860. 

" My Dear Lady Feanbxin. — It is of course of vital 
importance that the generous co-operation of the Ameri- 
cans in the rescue of Sir John Franklin and his crews 
be directed to points which call for search, and at the 
same time give them a clear field for the exercise of 
their energy and emulation. It would be a pity, for 
instance, if they should be merely working on the same 
ground with ourselves, while extensive portions of the 
Arctic Sea, in which it is equally probable the lost ex- 
pedition may be fouiid, should be left unexamined ; and 
none, in my opinion, offers a better prospect of success- 
ful search than the coasts of Repulse Bay, Hecla and 
Fury Strait, Committee Bay, Felix Harbor, the estuary 
of the Great Fish River, i nd Simpson's Strait, with the 
sea to the northwest of it. My reasons for saying so 
are as follows ; — 

21 N* 



332 PKOGKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

" Suppose Sir John Franklin to have so far carried 
out the tenor of his orders as to have penetrated south- 
west from Cape Walker, and to have been either ' cast 
away,' or hopelessly impeded by ice, and that either in 
the past or present year he found it necessary to quit 
his ships, they being anywhere between 100° and 108° 
west longitude, and 70° and 73° north latitude. Now, 
to retrace his steps to Cape Walker, and thence to Re- 
gent Inlet, would be no doubt the first suggestion that 
would arise. Yet there are objections to it : firstly, he 
would have to contend against the prevailing set of the 
ice, and currents, and northerly wind ; secondly, if no 
whalers were found in Lancaster Sound, how was he 
to support his large party in regions where the musk 
ox or reindeer is never seen ? thirdly, leaving his 
ships in the summer, he knew he could only reach the 
whaling ground in the fall of the year ; and, in such 
case, would it not be advisable to make rather for 
the southern than the northern limit of the seas vis- 
ited by tlio wlialers ? fourthly, by edging to the south 
ratlier than the north. Sir John Franklin would be 
falling back to, rather than going from, relief, and in- 
crease the probabilities of providing food for his large 
party. 

" I do not believe he would have decided on going 
due south, because the lofty land of Victoria Island 
was in his road, and when he did reach the American 
shore, he would only attain a desert, of whose horrors 
he 1^0 doubt retained a vivid recollection ; and a 
lengthy land journey of more than 1000 miles to the 
Hudson's Bay settlements was more than his men were 
capable of 

" There remains, therefore, but one route for Sir John 
ander such circumstances to follow ; and it decidedly 
has the following merits, that of being in a direct line 
for the southern limit of tlie whale fishery ; that of 
leading through a series of narrow seas adapted for the 
navigation of small open boats ; that of being the most 
expeditious route by which to reach Fort Churchill, in 
Hudson's Bay ; that of leading through a region visited 



LIEUTENANT OSBOKN's SUGGESTIONS. 333 

by Esquimaux and migratory animals ; and this route 
is through the ' Strait of Sir James Ross,' across the 
narrow isthmus of Boothia Felix, (which, as you re- 
minded me to-day, was not supposed to exist when Sir 
John Franklin left England, and has been since discov- 
ered,) into the Gulf of Boothia, where he could either 
pass by Hecla and Fury Strait into the fishing-ground 
of Hudson's Strait, or else go southward down Commit- 
tee Bay, across the Rae Istbmus into Repulse Bay, and 
endeavor from there to reach some vessels in Hudson's 
Bay, or otherwise Fort Churchill. 

" It is not unlikely either, that when Franklin had 
got to the eastern extremity of James Ross's Strait, 
and found the land to be across his path where he had 
expected to find a strait, that his party might have di- 
vided, and the more active portion of them attempted 
to ascend the Great Fish River, where we have Sir 
George Back's authority for supposing they would find, 
close to the arctic shores, abundance of food in fish, 
and herds of reindeer, &c., while the others traveled 
on the road I have already mentioned. 

" To search for them, therefore, on this line of retreat, 
I should think highly essential, and if neglected this 
year, it must be done next ; and if not done by the 
Americans, it ought to be done by us. 

" I therefore suggest the following plan : — Suppose 
a well-equipped expedition to leave America in May, 
and to enter Hudson's Strait, and then divide into two 
divisions. The first division might go northward, 
through Fox's Channel to Hecla and Fury Strait, exam 
ine the shores of the latter carefully, deposit provisions 
at the western extreme, erect consj)icuous beacons, and 
proceed to Melville or Felix Harbor, in Boothia, secure 
their vessel or vessels, and dispatch, as soon as circum- 
stances would allow, boat parties across the neck of 
the isthmus into the western waters. Here let them 
divide, and one party proceed through James Ross's 
Strait, carefully examining the coast, and push over sea, 
ice, or land, to the northwest as far as possible. The 
other boat party to examine the estuary of the Grea^ 



SS4: PROGKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Fisli River, and thence proceed westward along the 
coast of Simpson's Strait, and, if possible, examine the 
broad bay formed between it and Dease's Strait. 

"The second division, on parting company, might 
pass south of Southampton Island, and coast along from 
Chesterfield Inlet northward to Repulse Bay, a boat 
party with two boats might cross Rae Isthmus into the 
bottom of Committee Bay, with instructions to visit 
both shores of the said bay, and to rendezvous at the 
western entrance of Hecla and Fury Strait. The sec- 
ond division (be it one or more vessels) should then 
pass into Fox's Channel, and turning through Hecla 
and Fury Strait, pick up the boats at the rendezvous ; 
and thence, if the first division have passed on all right, 
and do not require reinforcement, the second division 
should steer northward along the unknown coast, ex- 
tending as far as Cape Kater ; from Cape Kater pro- 
ceed to Leopold Island, and having secured their ships 
there, dispatch boat or traveling parties in a direction 
southwest from Cape Rennell, in IN^orth Somerset, be- 
ing in a parallel line to the line of search we shall 
adopt from Cape "Walker, and at the same time it will 
traverse the unknown sea beyond the Islands lately 
observed by Captain Sir James Ross. 

"Some such plan as this would, I think, insuie youi 
gallant husband being met or assisted, should he be to 
the south or the west of Cape "Walker, and attempt to 
return by a southeast course, a direction which, I think, 
others as well as myself would agree in thinking a very 
rational and probable one. 

"I will next speak of an argument which has been 
brought forward in consequence of no traces of the 
missing expedition having been discovered in Lancas- 
ter Sound ; that it is quite possible, if Franklin failed 
in getting through the middle ice from Melville Bay to 
Lancaster Sound, that, sooner than disappoint public 
anxiety and expectation of a profitable result arising 
from his expedition, he may have turned northward, 
and gone up Smith's Sound ; every mile beyond its er- 
trance was new ground, and therefore a reward to the 



DEBATE m CONGKBflS. 335 

discoverer. It likewise brought them nearer the pole, 
and may be they found that open sea of which Baron 
Wrangel speaks so constantly in his journeys over the 
ice northward from Siberia. 

"It is therefore desirable that some vessels should 
carefully examine the entrance of this sound, and visit 
all the conspicuous headlands for some considerable 
distance within it ; for it ought to be borne in mind, 
that localities perfectly accessible for the purpose of 
erecting beacons, &c., one season, may be quite im- 
practicable the next, and Franklin, late in the season 
and pressed for time, would not have wasted time, scal- 
ing bergs to reach the shore and pile up cairns, of 
which, in all the sanguine hope of success, he could not 
have foreseen the necessity. 

" Should any clue be found to the lost expedition in 
this direction, to follow it up would, of course, be the 
duty of the relieving party, and every thing would de- 
pend necessarily upon the judgment of the commanders. 

"In connection with this line of search, I think a 
small division of vessels, starting from S2:>itzbergen, and 
pushing from it in a northwest direction, might be of 
great service ; for on reference to the chart, it will be 
seen that Spitzbergen is as near the probable position 
of Franklin (if he went north about,) on the east, as 
Behring's Strait is upon the west; and the probability 
of reaching the meridian of 80° west from Spitzbergen 
is equally as good as, if not better than, Behring's Strait, 
and, moreover, a country capable of supporting life 
always in the rear to fall back upon. 

"Sheeaed Osrokn, 
"Lieutenant Royal Navy. 

"To Lady Franklin." 

Debate m the American Congress. 

The following remarks of honorable members and 
senators, in defense of the bill for carrying out Mr. 
Grinnell's expedition, will explain the grounds on which 
the government countenance wag invoked for the noble 
undertaking : — 



336 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

"Mr. Miller : I prefer that the government should 
have the entire control of this enterprise ; but, Sir, I 
do not think that can be accomplished ; at all events, it 
cannot within the time required, to produce the good 
results which are to be hoped from this expedition. It 
is well known to all that the uncertain fate of Sir John 
Franklin and his companions has attracted the attention 
and called forth the sympathies of the civilized world. 
This government. Sir, has been indifferent to the call. 
An application, an appeal was made to this government 
of no ordinary character ; one which was cheerfully 
entertained by the President, and which he was anxiou? 
should be complied with. But it is known to the coun 
try and to the Senate that, although the President had 
every disposition to send out an expedition in search 
of Sir John Franklin, it was found upon inquiry that 
we had no ships fitted for the occasion, and that the 
Executive had no authority to procure them for an ex- 
pedition of this kind, and suitable for this sort of navi- 
gation. The Executive was therefore obliged, for want 
of authority to build the ships, to forego further action 
on this noble enterprise, until Congress should meet, 
and authorize the expedition. 

"In the mean time, Mr. Grinnell, one of the most 
res})ectable and worthy merchants of the city of N^ew 
York, understanding the difficulty that the government 
had ill fitting out the expedition, has gone to work, and 
with his own means has built t\^o small vessels espe- 
cially prepared for the expedition ; and he now most 
generously tenders them to the government, not to be 
under his own control, but the control of the govern- 
ment, and to be made part of the navy of the United 
States. The honorable senator from Alabama (Mr. 
King) is mistaken with regard to the terms and effect 
of this resolution. This resolution places those two 
ships under the control of the government, as much 
so as if they were built expressly for the navy of the 
United States. Their direction, their fitting out, theii 
officers and m'^n, are all to be under the control of 
the Executive, Their o ficers are to be offictfi'S of oiu 



DEBATE IN CONOKESS 337 

navy — their seamen the seamen of our navy — so that 
the expedition will be as thoroughly under the control of 
this government as if the ships belonged to us. Now, 
Sir, I should have no objections myself to amend this 
resolution so as to authorize the purchase of these two 
small vessels at once, and make them a part of our na 
val establishment ; but, when I recollect the magnani- 
mous feeling which urged this noble-hearted merchant 
to prepare these ships, I know that that same feeling 
would forbid him to make merchandise of that which 
he has devoted to humanity. lie offers them for this 
great cause ; they are his property, prepared for this 
enterprise, and he offers them to us to be used by the 
government in this great undertaking. We must either 
accept them for the purpose to which he has dedicated 
them, or reject them altogether. If we refuse these 
ships, we will defeat the whole enterprise, and lose all 
opportunity of participation in a work of humanity 
which now commands the attention of the world. 

" If we refer this resolution back to the committee, 
and they report a bill authorizing government to build 
ships to carry on tlie expedition on its own account, it 
would be attended with very great delay, and, in my 
opinion defeat the object we have in view. In a case 
of this kind time is every thing. It must be done speed- 
ily, if done at all. Every hour's delay may be worth 
the life of a man. Sir John Franklin and his compan- 
ions may ere this have perished, but our hope is that 
they are still living in some narrow sea, imprisoned be- 
wails of ice, where our succor may yet reach them. 
But, Sir, whether our hopes are fallacious or not, the 
public feeling — the feeling of humanity — is, that the 
tate of Sir John Franklin should, if possible, be ascer- 
tained, and as soon as possible. The public mind will 
never be satisfied till an expedition from this country, 
or from some other country, shall have ascertained their 
fate. I therefore trust that this resolution, as it is, will 
be acted upon at once, and that it will receive the 
unanimous vote of the Senate. -^^ * * * 

'' I am so impressed Mr. President, with the impor 



338 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

tance of time as regards the disposal of this question, 
that I hesitate even to occupy the attention of the 
Senate for a few moments ; and I only do so for the 
purpose of correcting some views which have been ex- 
pressed by the senator from Mississippi. * * * The 
question is, whether we shall adopt this resolution, and 
immediately send forth tliis expedition for the purpose 
of accomplishing this great object, or whether we shall 
throw back this resolution to drag its slow course 
through Congress, in the form of another bill, to make 
an aj)propriation for the purpose of building vessels. 
For what object? To secure, as the senator says, to the 
United States, the sole honor and glory of this expedi- 
tion. Sir, if this expedition is got up merely for honor 
and glory either to the United States or to an individual, 
I will have nothing whatever to do with it. Sir, there 
is a deeper and a higher sentiment that has induced the 
action of Congress on this subject. It is to engage in 
a great work of humanity, to do that which is not only 
being done by the government of England, but by pri- 
vate individuals, who are fitting out expeditions at their 
own expense, and sending them to the northern seas, 
for the purpose of discovering the fate of this great 
man, who had periled his life in the cause of science 
and of commerce. 

" Mr President, I have been informed that a private 
expedition is now being fitted out in England under the 
direction of that great commander, or I may call him 
the king of the Polar Seas, Sir John Poss, v/ho is going 
again to devote himself and his life to this perilous ex- 
pedition. Sir, altogether I have not had heretofore 
much confidence in the success of this expedition, yet 
when I consider the rejmtation of Sir John Poss, and 
the fact that he is better acquainted with those seas 
than any other man living, and understanding that he 
entertains the belief that Sir John Franklin and his 
companions are yet alive, and may be rescued, — I say, 
finding such a man as Sir John Poss engaged in an ex- 
pedition of this kind, I am not without hope that our 
effoi-ts may, under Providence, be crowned with success. 



DEBATE IN CONGHEBS. 330 

But the honorable senator says that nothing is likely to 
be derived from this expedition but honor and glory, 
and that that is to be divided between the government 
of the United States and a private individual. Sir, is 
there nothing to be derived from the performance of an 
act of humanity but honor and glory? Sir, it is said 
that in this instance both the government and the indi 
vidual alluded to are engaged in the same work. Well 
Sir, what objection can there be to that connection 
Does the honorable senator from Mississippi envy the 
individual his share of the honor and glory ? Does he 
desire to monopolize it all to the United States ? I hope 
he has no such feeling as that. 

" But, Mr. President, the honorable senator made use 
of an expression which I think he will withdraw. He 
intimated, if I understood him rightly, some suspicion 
that this was a matter of speculation on the part of Mr. 
Grinnell. 

" Mr. FooTE : I said I had heard such a thing sug 
gested ; but I do not make any such charge myself. 

" Mr. Miller : I have heard this urged as an objec- 
tion heretofore, but I am satisfied that if the senator 
from Mississippi knew the character and the history of 
this gentleman, he would not even repeat that he had 
heard such an insinuation. Sir, although this is a 
liberal donation from an individual, the sum need not 
alarm gentlemen about after claims. These ships are 
but small ships ; and it is necessary that they should be 
small in order that they may be eifective. One of them 
is, I understand, 150 tons, and the other 90 tons. They 
have cost, I believe, 30,000 dollars. Now, when we 
find this merchant devoting his property, not for the 
purpose of building ships to convey merchandise to the 
markets of the world ; when we find him retiring from 
the ordinary course of commercial pursuit in which all 
the world is engaged, and devoting a portion of his 
fortune to the building of ships that can be used for no 
other purpose but in this voyage of humanity, can it be 
imagined that any thought of speculation on his part 
could have influenced his conduct? ISTo, Sir. On the 



340 PEOGREBS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

contrary, it is a high and worthy motive ; and I think 
it ought to receive the approbation of this and all other 
intelligent Christian nations, to see a merchant, who, 
while the commercial world are encompassing the 
globe by sea and land in quest of profit and of gold, is 
dedicating himself to his great object, and devoting a 
part of his fortune to the cause of humanity, and offer- 
ing to government, not as a bounty, but because the 
government, with all its means, has not the power and 
the time to prepare vessels to do this work. .That, Sir. 
is the object. 

" Now, if we do not accept these ships, there will be 
an end of this expedition. Sir, shall it be said, that 
this government has lost such an op23ortunity as this of 
exhibiting the deep interest which our people feel both 
in the cause of science and humanity, and that, too, at 
the very time when we are entering into treaties and com- 
pacts with all the commercial nations of the world, for 
the purpose of extending commerce and civilization, 
and opening communications of tjade from sea to sea? 
When the government is not only doing all by its own 
power, but also acting in concert witli our private citi- 
zens in constructing rail-roads and canals, and by vari- 
ous other modes extending commercial civilization 
throughout the world, shall it be said that we, at this 
moment, refused, through the fear of losing a little 
honor and glory and national dignity, to accept two 
sliips — the only two ships in America that can do the 
work — in the accomplishment of this great enterprise? 
I hope not. Let us not, then, cavil and waste time 
about these little matters. If the work is to be done 
at all it must be done now, and ^one, as I conceive, by 
the adoption of this resolution. 

Governor Seward spoke as follows in the Senate 
on the same subject : — "I am happy to perceive, Mr. 
President, indications all around the chamber that there 
is no^ disagreement in regard to the importance, or in 
relation to the propriety, of a search on the part of this 
nation, by the government itself, or by individual citi- 
zens, for the lost and heroic navigator. Since so nmch 



b^HA'r^ IN CONGRESS. 341 

*s conceded, and since I come from the State whence 
this proposition emanates, I desire to notice, in a very 
few words, the objections raised against the mode of 
carrying the proposed design into eifect. It is always 
the case, I think, when great objects and great enter- 
prises which are feasible are hindered or defeated, that 
they are hindered or defeated, not so much by want of 
agreement concerning the measures themselves, as by 
diversity of opinion concerning the mode of carrying 
them into execution. Since this is so generally the 
case, the rule whicli I always adopt, and which seems 
to be a safe one, is, that where I cannot have my own 
way of obtaining a great public object, I will accept 
the best other way which opens before me. E^ow, I 
cordially agree with those honorable Senators who 
would have preferred that at some ajopropriate time, 
and in some proper and unobjectionable manner, the 
government should have moved for the attainment of 
this object, as a government, and have made it exclu- 
sively the act of the nation. And I would have pre- 
ferred this, not so much on account of the glory that it 
is supposed would have followed it, as because of the 
beneficence of the enterprise. Enterprises which 
spring from a desire of glory are very apt to end in 
disappointment. True national glory is always safely 
attained by prosecuting beneficent designs, whatever 
may be their success. I say. Sir, then, that I would 
have preferred the alternative suggested ; but the fact 
is, without stopping to inquire whei'e the fault lies, or 
whether there be fault at all, the government has not 
moved, and the reason which has been assigned is, I 
have no doubt, the ^ue one. I do not know that it 
has ever been contradicted or called in question ; that 
reason is, that the Navy of the United States contains 
no vessels adapted to the enterprise, but consists of 
ships constructed and fitted for very diiferent objects 
and purposes than an exploring expedition amid the 
ice-bound seas of the arctic pole. Our naval marine 
consists of vessels adapted to the purposes of convoys, 
military armament, and the suppression of the elav©- 



^42 PtlOGRESS Of ARCTIC BlSCOVERV. 

trade on the coast of Africa. The executive portions 
of the government failed for want of vessels suitable 
to be employed in this particular service. It therefore 
devolved upon the Legislature of the United States. 
But, although we have been here now nearly five 
months, no Committee of either House, no member of 
either House of Congress has proposed to equip a na- 
tional fleet for this purpose. While this fact exists on 
one side, it is to be remarked on the other, that the 
time has arrived in which the movement must be made 
if it is to be made at all, and also that a careful inves- 
tigation, made by scientific and practical men, has re- 
vived the hope in Europe and'America that the humane 
object can be attained. There can, then, be no delay 
allowed for considering whether the manner for carry- 
ing the design into efi^ect could not be changed. Let 
us, then, practically survey the case as it comes before 
us. The government of the United States has really 
no vessels adapted to the purpose. To say nothing of 
the expense, the government has not time to provide, 
prepare, or equip vessels for the expedition. Under 
such circumstances, a citizen of the United States 
tenders to the government vessels of his own, precisely 
adequate in number, and exactly fitted in construction 
and equipment, for the performance of the duty to be 
assumed. Since he offers them to the government, 
what reason can we assign for refusing them ? No 
reason can be assigned, except that he is too generous, 
and offers to give us the use of the vessels instead of 
demanding compensation for it. Well, Sir, if we do 
accept them it can be immediately carried into execu- 
tion, with a cheering prospect of attaining the great 
object which the United States and the civilized world 
have such deep interest in securing. Then the ques- 
tion resolves itself into this — the question raised by 
the honorable Senator from Alabama (Mr. King) — 
whether, in seeking so beneficent an object, it is con- 
Bistent with the dignity of the nation to combine indi- 
vidual action with a national enter])rise. I do not 
<hink, Mr. President, that tlcit hon()ra])lc Senator wiU 



rm'BATE IN CONGRESS. 343 

find himself obliged to insist upon this objection after 
lie shall have carefully examined the bill before us 
He will find that it converts the undertaking into a 
national enterprise. The vessels are to be accepted 
not as individual property, but as national vessels. 
They will absolutely cease to be under the direction, 
management, or control of the owners, and will become 
at once national ships, and for the time, at least, and 
for all the purposes of the expedition, a part of the 
national marine. 

"Now, Sir, have we not postal arrangements with 
various foreign countries carried into effect in the same 
wa^, and is the dignity of the nation compromised by 
chem ? During the war with Mexico, the government 
continually hired ships and steamboats from citizens foi 
military operations. Is the glory of that war tarnished 
uy the use of those means ? The government in this 
case, as in those cases, is in no sense a partner. It 
assumes the whole control of the vessels, and the enter- 
prise becomes a national one. The only circumstance 
remaining to be considered is, whether the government 
can accept the loan of the service of the vessels without 
making compensation. Now, Sir, I should not have had 
the least objection, and, indeed, it would have been 
more agreeable to me if the government could have 
made an arrangement to have paid a compensation. 
But I hold it to be quite unnecessary in the present 
♦ase because the character of the person who tenders 
these vessels, and the circumstances and manner of the 
whole transaction, show that it is not a speculation. 
Ko compensation is wanted. It would only be a cere- 
mony on the part of the government to offer it, and a 
ceremony on the part of the merchant to decline it. I 
am, therefore, willing to march directly to the object, 
and to assume that these ceremonies have been duly 
performed, that the government has offered to pay, and 
the noble-spirited merchant declined to receive. 

" Now, then, is there any thing derogatory from the 
dignity and independence of this nation in employing 
the vessels? Certainly not, since that employment is 



344 PROGRESS OF AECTiO DISCOVERY. 

ID dispensable. If it were not indispensable 1 do not 
think that the dignity of the Republic would be im- 
paired ; I think, on the contrary, that it would be en- 
hanced and elevated. It is a transaction worthy of the 
nation, a spectacle deserving the contemplation and 
respect of mankind, to see tliat not only does the nation 
prosecute, but that it has citizens able and willing to 
contribute, voluntarily and witliout compulsion, to an 
enterprise so interesting to the cause of science and of 
humanity. It is indeed a new and distinct cause for 
national pride, that an individual citizen, not a merchant 
prince, as lie would be called in some other countries, 
but a republican merchant, comes forward in this way 
and moves the government and co-operates with it. It 
illustrates the magnanimity of the nation and of the 
citizen. Sir, there is nothing objectionable in this fea- 
ture of the transaction. It results from the character 
of the government, which is essentially popular, that 
there are perpetual debates on the question how far 
measures and enterj^rises, for the purposes of humanity 
and science, are consistent with the constitutional or- 
ganization of the government, although they are ad- 
mitted to be eminently compatible with the dignity, 
chara ;ter, and intelligence of the nation. All our en- 
terprises, more or less, are carried into execution, if 
they are carried into execution at all, not by the direct 
action of the government, but by the lending of its 
favor, countenance, and aid to individuals, to corpora- 
tions, and to States. Thus it is that we construct rail- 
roads and canals, and found colleges and universities. 
" Nor is this mode of prosecuting enterprises of great 
pith and moment peculiar to this government. Tliere 
was a navigator who went forth from a port in Spain, 
some three or four hundred years ago, on an enterprise 
quite as doubtful and quite as perilous as this. After 
trying unsuccessfully several States, he was forced to be 
content with the sanction, and little more than the sanc- 
tion and patronage of the Court of Madrid. The scanty 
treasures devoted to that undertaking were the private 
pontrib^tions of a Queen and her subjects, and the vgb 



t)J:BATK IN CONGRkSS. 34o 

sels were fitted out and manned at tlie expense of nier- 
cliants and citizens, wliich gave a new world to the 
kingdom of Castile and Leon. 

" Entertaining these views now, whatever my opinion 
might have been under other circumstances, I shall vote 
against a recommittal, and in favor of the bill, as the 
surest way of preventing its defeat, and of attaining the 
sublime and beneficent object which it contemplates." 

The committee of both Houses of Congress, to whom 
Mr. Grinnell's petition for men and supplies was re- 
ferred, made a unanimous report in favor ; and tlic 
vessels left on their darino; and o;enerous errand. 

The following are the joint resolutions which passed 
both Houses of Congress and were approved by Gen- 
eral Taylor, authorizing the President of the United 
States to accept and attach to the U. S. Navy the two 
vessels, ofi'ered by Mr. Grinnell, to be sent to the arctic 
seas in search of Sir John Franklin and his companions: 

" Resolved by the Senate and House of Represent- 
atives of the United States of America in Congress 
assembled, That the President be, and he is hereb}' 
authorized and directed, to receive from Henry Grinnell, 
of the city nf New York, the two vessels prepared by 
him for an expedition in search of Sir John Franklin 
and his companions, and to detail from the Navy such 
commissioned and warrant officers, and so many sea- 
men as may be necessary for said expedition, and who 
may be willing to engage therein. The said officers 
and men shall be furnished with suitable rations, at the 
discretion of the President, for a period not exceeding 
three years, and shall have the use of such necessary 
instruments as are now on hand and can be spared from 
the Navy, to be accounted for or returned by the offi- 
cers who shall receive the same. 

" Sec. 2. Be it furtlier resolved. That the said vessels, 
officers, and tnen shall be in all respects under the laws 
and regulations of the Navy of the United States until 
their return, when the said vessels shall be delivered 
to the said Henr}^ Grinnell : Provided, That the United 
States shall not be liable to any claim for compensation 



346 PROGRESS OF Arctic DtscOVEUY. 

in case of the loss, damage or deterioration of the said 
vessels, or either of them, from any cause or in any 
manner whatever, nor be liable to any demand for the 
use or risk of the said vessels or either of them." 

Directly the fact became known that the American 
government had nobly come forw^ard to aid in the search 
which was being so strenuously made, the different 
learned societies of the metropolis vied with each other 
in testifying the estimation in which this noble conduct 
was held. 

At the annual meeting of the Koyal Society, on the 
7th of June, upon tlie motion of Sir Charles Lennox, 
seconded by the late Marquis of Northampton, a vote 
of thanks was carried with the utmost enthusiasm, ex- 
pressive of the gratitude of the Society to the American 
government, and of their deep sense of the kind and 
brotherly feeling which had prompted so liberal an act 
of humanity. A similar vote was carried, on the 11th 
of June, at a general meeting of the Royal Geograph- 
ical Society, (of which Sir John Franklin was long one 
of the vice-presidents.) 

The American expedition consists of two brigantines 
— now enrolled in the United States Navy — the Ad- 
vance, of 144 tons, and the Rescue, 91 tons. These 
vessels have been provided and fitted out by the gener- 
ous munificence of Mr. Henry Grinnell, a merchant of 
New York, at an expense to him of between 5000/. and 
6000/. The American government also did much to- 
tvard fitting and equipping them. The Advance was 
two 3^ears old, and the Rescue quite new. Both vessels 
were strengthened in every part, and put in the most 
complete order for the service in wiiich they were to be 
engaged. They are under the command of Lieutenant 
Edward S. De Haven, who was employed in Com- 
mander Wilkes' expedition in 1843 ; Mr. S. P. Griffin, 
acting master, has charge of the Rescue^ The othei 
officers of the expedition are Messrs. W. H. Murdaugh, 
acting-master ; T. W. Broadhead, and R. R. Carter, 
passed midshipmen ; Dr. E. K. Kane, passed assistant- 
surgeon ; Mr. Benjamin Finland, assistant-surgeon ; W 



THE AMEEIOAN EXPEDITION. 347 

S. Lovell, midshipman ; H. Brooks, "boatswain ; and t 
complement of thirty-six seamen in the two vessels — 
the crew of the Advance consisting of fifteen men, and 
the Kescne thirteen men. The vessels left 'New York 
on the 25th of May, 1850. Their proposed destination 
is through Barrow's Strait, westward to Cape Walker, 
and ronnd Melville Island. They were provisioned for 
three years. 

Whatever may be the result of this expedition, as 
connected with the fate of the gallant Sir John Frank- 
lin, it is one which reflects the highest lionor upon the 
philanthropic individual who projected it, and upon the 
officers and men engaged therein. 

A dispatch has been received from Lieutenant De 
Haven, dated ofi" Leopold Island, August 22d, which 
reports the progress of the expedition thus far. The 
Advance, in company with her consort, the Rescue, 
sailed from the Whale Fish Islands on the 29th of June; 
after many delays and obstructions from calms, stream 
ice, and the main pack, they forced a passage through 
it for a considerable distance, but at last got wedged up 
in the pack immovably until the 29th of July, when 
by a sudden movement of the floes, an opening pre- 
sented itself, and under a press of sail the vessels forced 
their way into clear water. They encountered a heavy 
gale, which, with a thick fog, made their situation very 
dangerous, the huge masses of ice being driven along 
by the strength of the wind and current with great 
fury. By the aid of warping in calm weather, they 
reached Cape Yorke on the 15th of August, and a little 
to the eastward met with two Esquimaux, but could not 
understand much from them. Between Cape Yorke 
and Cape Dudley Diggs, while delayed by calms, being 
in open water, they hauled the ships into the shore at 
tlie Crimson Clifis of Beverley, (so named from the red 
snow on them,) and filled their water casks from a 
mountain stream. 

On the 18th, with a fair wind, they shaped their course 
for the western side of Baffin's Bay, and met the pack in 
etreams and very loose, which they cleared entirely by 

2^ 



348 PKOGKESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVEKY. 

the following day — getting into the north waters, where 
they fell in with Captain Penny's two vessels, which 
having been unsuccessful in their efforts to enter Jones' 
Sound, were now taking the same course up Lancaster 
Sound. On the 19th, in a violent gale, the Advance 
parted company with the Rescue. On the morning of 
the 21st of August, the fog cleared, and Lieutenant De 
Haven found he was off Cape Crawford, on the south 
ern shore of the Sound. Here he fell in with the Felix 
schooner, under Captain Sir John Ross, from whom he 
learned that Cofhmodore Austin was at Pond's Bay with 
two of his vessels, seeking for information, while the 
other two had been disj^atched to examine the north 
shore of the Sound. Lieutenant De Haven proposed 
proceeding on from Port Leopold to Wellington Chan- 
nel, the appointed place of rendezvous with his consort. 

Captain Forsyth's Remarkable Yoyage in the 

"Prince Albert." 

In April, 1850, a branch expedition to aid those ves- 
sels sent out by the government was determined on by 
Lady Franklin, who contributed largely toward its out- 
fit ; a considerable sum being also raised by public 
subscription. The expenses of this exj^edition were 
nearly 4000^., of which 2500^. were contributed by Lady 
Franklin herself. The object of this expedition was 
the providing for the search of a portion of the Arctic 
Sea, which it was distinctly understood could not be 
executed by the vessels under Captain Austin ; but the 
importance of which had been set forth, by arctic and 
other authorities, in documents printed in the Parlia- 
mentary Papers. 

The unprovided portion alluded to, includes Regent 
Inlet, and the passages connecting it with the western 
sea, James Ross's Strait, and other localities, S. "W. of 
Cape Walker, to which quarter Sir John Franklin was 
required by his instructions to proceed in the first in- 
stance. This search is assumed to be necessary on the 
following grounds : — 



VOYAGE OF TBJi FKINCE ALBERT. 349 

1. The probability of Sir John Franklin having 
abandoned his vessels to the S. W. of Cape Walker. 

2. The fact that, in his charts, an open passage is 
laid down from the west into the south part of Regent 
Inlet. 

3. Sir John Franklin would be more likely to take 
this course through a country known to possess the re- 
sources of animal life, with the wreck of the Victory 
in Felix Harbor for fuel, and the stores of Fury Beach 
farther north in view, than to fall upon an utterly barren 
region of the north coast of America. 

4. , He would be more likely to expect succor to be 
sent to him by way of Lancaster Sound and Barrow's 
Strait, into which Regent Inlet opens, than in any 
other direction. 

In corroboration of the necessity of this part of the 
search, I would refer generally to the Parliamentary 
papers of 1848-9 and 50. As an individual opinion, I 
may quote the words of Captain Beechey, p. 31 of the 
first series. " If, in this condition," (that of being 
hopelessly blocked up to the S. W. of Cape Walker,) 
" which I trust may not be the cascj Sir John Franklin 
should resolve upon taking to his boats, he would prefer 
attempting a boat navigation through Sir James Ross's 
Strait, and up Regent Inlet, to a long land journey 
across the continent to the Hudson Bay Settlements, 
to which the greater part of his crew would be wholly 
unequal." And again, in his letter to the Secretary 
of the Admiralty, 7th of February, 1850, Captain 
Beechey writes, " ^ * * ^ the bottom of Regent Inlet, 
about the Pelly Islands, should not be left unexamined. 
[n the memorandum submitted to their Lordships, ITth 
of January, 1849, this quarter was considered of im- 
portance, and I am still of opinion that had Sir John 
Franklin abandoned his vessels near the coast of 
America, and much short of the Mackenzie River, he 
would have preferred the probability of retaining the 
use of his boats until he found relief in Barrow's Strait, 
to risking an overland joui:ney via the before-men- 
tioned river • and it must be remembered that at the 






350 PEOGHESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVEEY. 

time he sailed, Sir George Back's discovery had ren 
dered it very probable that Boothia was an island. 

The memorandum alluded to by Captain Beechey 
as having been submitted to the Lords of the Admi- 
ralty on the 17th of January, 1849, was, the expression 
of the unanimous opinion of the arctic ofiScers assem- 
bled by command of the Admiralty to deliberate upon 
the best means to be taken for the relief of the missing 
expedition ; and in this report, clause 14 is expressly 
devoted to the recommendation of the search of Regent 
Inlet. 

The necessity for the proposed search may be thus 
further developed. Sir John Franklin may have aban- 
doned his ships, when his provisions were nearly ex- 
hausted somewhere about the latitude of 73° N., long. 
105° W. ; in short, at any point S. W. of Cape Walker, 
not further W. than long. 110°. And in such case, 
rather than return north, (which might be indeed im- 
practicable) or moving south upon the American Con- 
tinent, of which (upon the coast,) the utter barrenness 
was already well known to him, he might prefer a 
southeastern course, with a view of passing in his boats, 
either through James Boss's, or through Simpson's 
Straits, into the Gulf of Boothia, and so up into Regent 
Inlet to the house and stores left at Fury Beach, the 
only depot of provisions known to him. The advantages 
of such a course might appear to him very great. 

1. Two open passages being laid down in his charts 
into Regent Inlet, by James Ross's Strait, and by Simp- 
son's Strait, a means of boat transport for his party 
would be aiForded, of which alone perhaps their ex- 
hausted strength and resources might admit; such a 
course would obviously recommend itself to a com- 
mander who had experienced the frightful difficulties 
of a land journey in those regions. 

2. The proposed course would lead through a part, 
the Isthmus of Boothia, in which animal life is known 
at some seasons to abound. 

3. The Esquimaux who have been found on the 
Isthmus of Boothia are extremely well disposed and 
friendly. 



VOYAGE OF THE PRmCE ALBERT. 351 

4., It is the direct route toward the habitual yearly 
resort of the whalers on the west coast of Baffin's Bay 
and Davis' Strait ; indeed those ships occasionally de- 
s.cend Regent Inlet to a considerable distance south. 
. 5. There are two persons attached to the expedition 
who are well acquainted with this region and its re 
sources — viz., Mr. Blanky, ice master, and Mr. Mac 
Donald, assistant surgeon, of the Terror. The forme 
was with Sir John Koss in the Victory. The lattei 
has made several voyages in whaling vessels and is 
acquainted with the parts lying between Begent Inlet 
and Davis' Strait. Where so few among the crews of 
the missing ships have had any local experience, the 
concurrent knowledge of two persons would have 
considerable weight. 

6. Opinions are very greatly divided as to the part 
m which Sir John Franklin's party may have been ar- 
rested, and as to the course they may have taken in 
consequence. It would be theretbre manifestly unfair, 
and most dangerous, to reason out and magnify any one 
hypothesis at the expense of the others. The plan here 
alluded to sought to provide for the probability of the 
Expedition having been stopped shortly after passing to 
the southwest of Cape Walker. The very open season 
of 1845 was followed by years of unusual severity until 
1849. It is therefore very possible that retreat as well 
as onward progress has been impossible — that safety 
alone has become their last object. The hope of rescu- 
ing them in their last extremity depends, then, (as far 
as human means can insure it,) on the multiplying of 
simultaneous efforts in every direction. Captain Aus- 
tin's vessels will, if moving in pairs, take two most im- 
portant sections only, of the general search, and will 
find they have enough to do to reach their several points 
of operation this season. 

The necessity for this search was greatly enhanced 
*)y the intelligence received about this time in England 
of the arrival of Mr. Rae and Commander Pullen at 
the Mackenzie Biver, thus establishing the fact, that 
Sir John Fi-anklin's party had not reached anv part of 



852 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

the coast between Behring's Strait and the Coppermine 
River, while the check which Mr. Rae received in 
his course to the north of the Coppermine, tended to 
give increased importance to the quarter eastward of 
that position. 

Commander Charles Codrington Forsyth, R. ]^., an 
enterprising young officer, who had not long previously 
been promoted in consequence of his arduous services 
in surveying on the Australian, African, and American 
shores, and who had rendered good service to the gov- 
ernment by landing supplies on the east coast of Africa, 
under circumstances of great difficulty during the Kafir 
war, had volunteered unsuccessfully for all the govern- 
ment expeditions, but was permitted by the Admiralty 
to command this private branch expedition, in which 

he embarked without fee or reward - on the noble and 

honorable mission of endeavoring to relieve his long- 
imprisoned brother officers. 

The Prince Albert, a small clipper vessel of about 
ninety tons, originally built by Messrs. White, of Cowes, 
in October, 1848, for the fruit trade, was accordingly 
hastily fitted out and dispatched from Aberdeen, and 
Captain Forsyth was instructed to winter, if possible, 
in Brentford Bay, in Regent Inlet, and thence send 
parties to explore the opposite side of the isthmus and 
the various shores and bays of the Inlet She had a 
crew of twenty, W. Kay and W. Wilson acting as first 
and second mates, and Mr. W. P. Snow as clerk. She 
sailed on the 5th of June, and was consequently the 
last vessel that left, and yet is the first that has reached 
home, having also brought some account of the track 
of Franklin's expedition. 

The Prince Albert arrived off Cape Farewell, July 
2d, entered the ice on the 19th, and on the 21st, came 
up with Sir John Ross in a labyrinth of ice. She pro- 
ceeded up Lancaster Sound and Barrow's Strait, fell in 
with most of the English ships in those seas, and also 
with the American brig Advance, sailing some time in 
company, and attempted to enter Regent Inlet and Wel- 
lington Channel. Sh^ left the Advance aground near 



VOYAGE OF l-HE PRESTCfi AIbERT. 353 

Gape Riley, at the entrance of Wellington Channel, 
though not in a situation supposed to be dangerous. 
Commander Forsyth, in his official letter to tlie Lords 
of the Admiralty, says that " traces of the missing ex- 
pedition under Sir John Franklin had been found at 
Cape Riley and Beechey Island, at the entrance to the 
Wellington Channel. We observed five places where 
tents had been pitched, or stones placed as if they had 
been used for keeping the lower part of the tents down, 
also great quantities of beef, pork, and birds' bones, a 
piece of rope, with the Woolwich naval mark on it, 
(yellow,) part of which I have inclosed." Having en- 
tered Wellington Channel, and examined the coast as 
far as Point innis, and finding no further traces of the 
missing vessels, and it being impracticable to penetrate 
further to the west. Commander Forsyth returned to Re 
gent Inlet, but meeting no opening there, the season 
oeing near at hand when the ice begins to form, and 
his vessel not of a strength which ^'ould enable it to 
resist a heavy pressure of ice, he determined on return- 
ing without further delay to England, after examining 
a number of points nlong the coast. 

On the 25th of August, a signal staff being observed 
on shore at Cape Riley, Mr. Snow was sent by Captain 
Forsyth to examine it. He found that the Assistance, 
Captain Ommaney, had been there two days before, and 
had left the following notice : — 

" This is to certify that Captain Ommaney, with the 
oflBcers of her Majesty's ships Assistance and Intrepid, 
landed upon Cape Riley on the 23d August, 1850, where 
he found traces of encampments, and collected the re- 
mains of materials, which evidently proved that some 
party belonging to her Majesty's ships had been de- 
tained on that spot. Beechey Island was also examined, 
where traces were found of the same party. This is 
also to give notice that a supply of provisions and fuel 
js at Cape Riley. Since 15th August, they have ex- 
amined the north shore of Lancaster Sound and Bar- 
row's Strait, without meeting with any other traces. 
Captain Ommaney proceeds to Cape Hotham and Cap© 



354 PROGRESS OF AROTIC DlSCOVEtlY. 

Walker in search of further traces of Sir John Frank- 
lin's expedition. Dated on board her Majesty's ship 
Assistance, off Cape Eiley, the 23d August, 1850." 

The seamen who were dispatched from the Assistance 
to examine these remains, found a rope with the naval 
mark, evidently belonging to a vessel which had been 
fitted out at Woolwich, and which, in all probability, 
was either the Erebus or the Terror. Other indications 
were also noticed, which showed that some vessel had 
visited the place besides the Assistance. Captain For- 
syth left a notice that the Prince Albert had called oft' 
Cape Riley on the 25th of August, and then bore np 
to the eastward. Captain Forsyth landed at Posses- 
sion Bay on the 29th August, but nothing was found 
there to repay the search instituted. 

The Prince Albert arrived at Aberdeen, on the 22d 
of October, after a quick passage, having been absent 
something less than four months. 

Captain Forsyth proceeded to London by the mail 
train, taking with him, for the information of the Ad- 
miralty, the several bones, (beef, pork, &c.,) which were 
found on Cape Riley, together with a piece of rope of 
about a foot and a half in length, and a small piece of 
canvas with the Queen's mark upon it, both in an ex- 
cellent state of preservation ; placing it almost beyond 
a doul)t that they were left on that spot by the expedi- 
*«on under Sir John Franklin. 

<Japtain Forsyth, during his short trip, explored re- 
gions which Sir James Ross was unable to reach the 
previous year. He was at Wellington Channel, and 
penetrated to Fury Beach, where Sir E. Parry aban- 
doned his vessel, (the Fury,) in 1825, after she .lad 
taken the ground. It is situated in about 72" 40' IST. 
latitude, and 91° 50' W. longitude. This is a point 
vhich has not been reached by any vessel for twenty 
years past. It was found, however, utterly impossible 
to land there on account of the packed ice. The whole 
of the coasts of Bafiin's Bav have also now been visited 
without result. 

Tlie intelligence whicli Capt Forsyth brought home 



VOYAGl? Oi' THE PEtNCE ALBERT. 355 

has, as a matter of coarse, excited the most intense in- 
terest in naval circles, and among the friends and rela- 
tives of the parties absent in the Erebus and Terror, 
the more so inasmuch as it has been ascertained at 
Chatliam Dockyard that the rope which Captain For- 
syth found on the spot when he visited it, and copied 
Capt. Ommaney's notice, is proved by its yellow mark 
to have been manufactured there, and certainly since 
1824 ; and moreover, from inquiries instituted, very 
strong evidence has been elicited in favor of the belief 
that the rope was made between the years 1841 and 
1849. That the trail of the Franklin expedition, oi 
some detachment of it, has been struck, there cannot 
be the slightest doubt in the mind of any one who has 
read the dispatches and reports. That Captain Om- 
maney felt satisfied on this score is evident from the 
terms of the paper he left behind him. The squadron, 
it appears, were in full cry upon the scent on the 25th 
of August, and we must wait patiently, but anxiously, 
for the next accounts of the results of their indefatiga- 
ble researches, which can hardly reach us from Bar- 
row's Strait before the autumn of 1851. 

There can be no doubt now in the mind of any one, 
that the Arctic Searching Expeditions have at length 
come upon traces^ if not the track of Sir John Frank- 
lin. The accounts brought by Captain Forsyth must 
have at least satisfied the most desponding that there 
is still hope left — that the ships have not foundered in 
Baffin's Bay, at the outset of the voyage, nor been 
crushed in the ice, and burned by a savage tribe of 
Esquimaux, who had murdered the crew. That the 
^orv[iQY might have happened, all must admit ; but to 
tlie latter, few, we imagine, will give their assent, not- 
withstanding the numerous cruel rumors promulgated 
from time to time. It would be idle to dwell upon so 
impossible an event. Where could this savage tribe 
spring from ? Mr. Saunders describes the natives of 
Wolstenholme Sound as the most miserable and help- 
less of mortals. They had no articles obtained from 
Europeans ; and he was of opinion that ther« were no 



356 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

settlements further north ; and if there were, doubtless 
they would be even more imj)otent than these wi-etched 
beings. That the ship might have foundered all must 
admit. The President did so with many a gallant soul 
on board. The Avenger ran on the Sorelli, and 300 
brave fellows, in an instant, met with a watery grave ; 
and till the sea shall give up her dead, who can count 
the thousands that lie beneath the billows of the mighty 
ocean ? We have now certain evidence that Franklin's 
ships did not founder — not, at least, in Baffin's Bay ; 
and our own belief, (says a well-informed and compe- 
tent writer in the Morning Herald,) is that the pennant 
still floats in the northern breeze, amid eternal regions 
of snow and ice. 

The voyage performed by the Prince Albert has thus 
been the means of keeping alive our hopes, and of in- 
forming us, up to a certain point, of the progress of 
the expeditions, and the situation of the different ships, 
of which we might have been left in a state of utter 
ignorance till the close of this year. Every thing con- 
nected with the navigation of the arctic seas is a 
chaise, coupled, of course, with skill ; and in looking 
at this voyage performed by Lady Franklin's little 
vessel, it must be obvious to every one that Captain 
Forsyth has had the chance of an open season, and the 
skill to make use of it. 

" Live a thousand years," and we may never see such 
another voyage performed. We have only to look at 
all that have preceded. Parry, it is true, in one year 
ran to Melville Island, and passing a winter, got back 
to England the following season — and this is at present 
the ne phcs ultra of arctic navigation. Sir John Ross, 
we know, went out in the Victory to Regent Inlet, and 
was frozen in for four years, and all the world gave 
him up for lost — but " there's life in the old dog yet," 
as the song has it. 

Sir James Ross was frozen in at Leopold Harbor, 
atid only got out, aftc^ massing a winter, to be carried 
away in a floe of ice into Baffin's Bay, which no human 
skill could prevent 



CAPTAIN m'cLINTOCk's EXPEDITION. 357 

Sir George Back was to make a summer's cruise to 
Wager Inlet, and return to England. The result every 
one knows or may make himself acquainted with, by 
reading the fearful voyage of the ' Terror,' 'itn abstract of 
which has already been given. It would be superfluous to 
enumerate all of the long series of polar voyages, but 
it is not improbable that Captain Forsyth's voyage, per- 
formed in the summer months of 1850, will be handed 
down to posterity as one of the most remarkable, if not 
the most remarkable, that has ever been accomplished in 
the arctic seas — the expedition consisting of one solitary 
small vessel. 

The main object of the voyage, it is true, had not been 
accomplished, but as all the harbors in Regent Inlet were 
frozen up, and it was utterly impossible to cut through a 
vast tract of ice, extending for perhaps four or five miles, 
to get the ship to a secure anchorage, under these circum- 
stances. Captain Forsyth had no alternative but to return, 
and in doing so, he has, in the opinion of all the best-in- 
formed officers, displayed great good sense and judgment 
rather than remain frozen in at the Wellington Channel, 
where he only went to reconnoiter, and where he had no 
business whatever, his instructions being confined to 
Regent Inlet. 



A-DDENDA — Last Years of Lady Jane Franklin — Capt. 
Francis McClintock's search in the " Fox " — Sir 
John Franklin's fate — His Death, June iith, 1847. 

Lady Jane Franklin, the second wife of Sir John Frank- 
lin, to. whose unwearied energy, devotion, and hopeful- 
ness, when hope had sunk in all other hearts, we are in- 
debted for the knowledge of the fate of her gallant hus- 
band, was the daughter of John Griffen, Esq., of Bedford 
Place, London, and was married to Sir John Franklin in 
November," 1826. English and American seamen, whalers 
and scientists were equally and emulously stimulated by 
her large rewards, her indefatigable voice and her pen, to 
search for the missing Erebus and Terror, which were last 



358 PROGRESS OF ARSTIC DISCOVERT. 

seen in July, 1845. In the course of eleven years from 
1845 to 1857, upwards of twenty separate expeditions, at 
the cost of over $5,000,000 and hundreds of precious lives 
went out to look for the missing crews. The fate of Sir 
John and his men was only definitely ascertained in 1859, 
by Capt. Francis McClintock, commander of the 'Fox,' a 
little vessel of 177 tons, formerly the pleasure yacht 
of Sir Richard Sutton, which was purchased, and 
fitted out and furnished with a crew of 24 volunteers 
by Lady Franklin in 1857. It then appeared that Frank- 
lin had died on the nth June, 1847, in the 62d year 
of his age, fortunately before his sympathetic heart 
had been lacerated by witnessing the awful sufferings of 
his men. Lady Franklin's interest in Arctic explorations 
did not terminate with the discovery of her husband's fate ; 
it never flagged up to her last illness and death in 1875. 

The adventures and important discoveries of McClintock 
and his crew, among which were the Esquimau Carl 
Petersen, interpreter, the famous companion of Dr. Kane, 
will be related in their projoer place in this history. 



THE AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION 



The First Grinnell Expedition in the Advance and 
Rescue, sent out by Henry Grinnell, Esq., undeb 
coMMAifD OF Lieutenant Db Haven, in the years 
1850 AND 1851. 



The safe return of the expedition sent out by Mr 
Henry Grinnell, an opulent merchant of 'New York city 
in search of Sir John Franklin and his companions, is 
an event of much interest ; and the voyage, though not 
resulting in the discovery of the long-absent mariners, 
presents many considerations satisfactory to the parties 
immediately concerned, and the American public in 
general. "^ 

Mr. Griunell's expedition consisted of only two smalj 
brigs, the Advance of 140 tons ; the Rescue of only 90 
tons. The former had been engaged in the Havana 
trade ; the latter was a new vessel built for the mer- 
chant service. Both were strengthened for the arctic 
voyage at a heavy cost. They were then placed under 
the directions of our ITavy Board, and subject to naval 
regulations, as if in permanent service. The command 
was given to Lieut. E. De Haven, a young naval officer 
who accompanied the United States exploring expedi- 
tion. Tlie result has proved that a better choice could 
not have been made. His officers consisted of Mr. 
Murdoch, sailing-master ; Dr. E. K. Kane, surgeon and 
naturalist ; and Mr. Lovell, midshipman. The Advance 
had a crew of twelve men when she sailed ; two of them 
complaining of sickness, and expressing a desire to 
return home, were left at the Danish settlement at Disco 
Island, on the coast of Greenland. 

The Expedition left New York on the 23d of May 
1850, and was absent a little more than sixteen months. 
They passed the eastern extremity of Newfoundland 



362 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

ten days after leaving Sandy Hook, and then sailed 
east-northeast, directly for Cape Comfort, on the coast 
of Greenland. The weather was generally fine, and 
only a single accident occurred on the voyage to that 
country of frost and snow. Off the coast of Labradoi 
they met an iceberg making its way toward the tropics. 
The night was very dark, and as the huge voyager had 
DO " light out," the Advance could not be censured for 
running foul. She was punished, however, by the loss 
of her jib-boom, as she ran against the iceberg at the 
rate of seven or eight knots an hour. 

The voyagers did not land at Cape Comfort, but 
turning northward, sailed along the southwest coast of 
Greenland, sometimes in tlie midst of broad acres of 
broken ice, (parti cuLarly in Davis' Straits,) as far as 
Whale IsLand. On the way the anniversary of our 
national independence occurred ; it was observed by 
the seamen by "splicing the main-brace" — in otlier 
words, they were allowed an extra glass of grog on tliat 
day. 

From Whale Island, a boat, with two officers and 
four seamen, was sent to Disco Island, a distance of 
about 26 miles, to a Danish settlement there, to procure 
skin clothing and other articles necessary for use during 
the rigors of a polar winter. The officers were enter- 
tained at the government house ; the seamen were com- 
fortably lodged with the Esquimaux, sleeping in fur 
bags at night. They returned to the ship the following 
day, and the expedition proceeded on its voyage. When 
passing the little Danish settlement of Upernavick, they 
were boarded by natives for the first time. They were 
out in government whale-boats, hunting for ducks and 
seals. These hardy children of the Arctic Circle w^ero 
net shy, for through the Danes, the English whalers,an-d 
government expeditions, they had become acquainted 
with men of other latitudes. 

When the expedition reached Melville Bay, which, 
on account of its fearful character, is also called the 
DeviVs Nijp^ the voyagers began to witness more of 
the grandeur and perils of arctic scenes. Icebergs of 



THE AMKBICAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 365 

all dimensions came bearing down from the Polar seas, 
like vast squadrons, and the roar of their rending came 
over the waters like the booming of heavy broadsides 
of contending navies. They also encountered immense 
floes, with only narrow channels between, and at times 
their situation was exceedingly perilous. On one occa- 
sion, after heaving through fields of ice for five consecu 
tive weeks, two immense floes, between which they 
were making their way, gradually approached each 
other, and for several hours they expected their tiny 
vessels — tiny when compared with the mighty objects 
around them — would be crushed. An immense calf 
of ice, six or eight feet thick, slid under the Rescue, 
lifting her almost " high and dry," and careening her 
partially upon her beam ends. By means of ice-an- 
chors, (large iron hooks,) they kept her from capsizing. 
In this j)Osition they remained about sixty hours, when, 
with, saws and axes, they succeeded in relieving her. 
The ice now opened a little, and they finally warped 
through into clear water. While they were thus con- 
fined, polar bears came around them in abundance, 
greedy for prey, and the seamen indulged a little in the 
perilous sports of the chase. 

The open sea continued but a short time, when they 
again became entangled among bergs, floes, and hum- 
mocks, and encountered the most fearful perils. Some- 
times they anchored their vessels to icebergs, and some- 
times to floes or masses of hummock. On one of these 
occasions, while the cook, an active Frenchman, was 
upon a berg, making a place for an anchor, the mass of 
ice split beneath him, and he was dropped through the 
yawning fissure into the water, a distance of almost 
thirty feet. Fortunately the masses, as is often the 
case, did not close up again, but floated apart, and the 
poor cook was hauled on board more dead than alive, 
from excessive fright. It was in this fearful region that 
they first encountered pack-ice, and there they were 
locked in from the 7th to the 23cl of July. During that 
time they were joined by the yacht Prince Albert, com- 
manded by Captain Forsyth, of the Royal Navy, and 



366 PKOGRESS OF AKCmC DISCOVERY. 

together the three vessels were anchored, for a while, 
to an immense field of ice, in sight of the Devirs 
Thumb. That high, rocky peak, situated in latitude 
74<^ 22', was about thirty miles distant, and with the 
dark hills adjacent, presented a strange aspect where 
all was white and glittering. The pack and the hills 
are masses of rock, with occasionally a lichen or a moss 
growing upon their otherwise naked surfaces. In the 
midst of the vast ice-field loomed up many lofty bergs, 
all of them in motion — slow and majestic motion. 

From the Devil's Thumb the American vessels passed 
onward through the pack toward Sabine's Islands, while 
the Prince Albert essayed to make a more westerly 
course. They reached Cape York at the beginning of 
August. Far across the ice, landward, they discovered, 
through their glasses, several men, apparently making 
signals ; and for a while they rej.oiced in the belief thai 
tliey saw a portion of Sir John Franklin's companions. 
Four men, (among whom was our sailor-artist,) were 
dispatched with a whale-boat to reconnoiter. They soor. 
discovered the men to be Esquimaux, who, by signs, 
professed great friendship, and endeavored to get the 
voyagers to accompany them to their homes beyond 
the hills. They declined ; and as soon as they returned 
to the vessel, the expedition again pushed forward, and 
made its way to Cape Dudley Digges, which they 
reached on the 7th of August. 

At Cape Dudley Digges they were charmed by the 
eight of the Crimson Cliffs, spoken of by Captain Parry 
and other arctic navigators. These are lofty clifl's of 
dark brown stone, covered with snow of a rich crimson 
color. It was a magnificent sight in that cold region, 
to see such an apparently warm object standing out in 
bold relief against the dark blue back-ground of a polar 
sky. This was^ the most northern point to which the 
expedition penetrated. The whole coast which they 
had passed from Disco to this cape is high, rugged, and 
barren, only some of the low points, stretching into the 
sea, bearing a species of dwarf fir. Kortheast from 
the cape risQ th^ Arctic Highlands, to an unknown alti- 



THE AMERlOAK ABCTIC EXPEMTICN". 371 

tude ; and stretching away northward is the unexplored 
Smith's Sound, filled with impenetrable ice. 

From Cape Dudley Digges, the Advance and Res- 
cue, beating against wind and tide in the midst of the 
ice-fields, made Wolstenholme Sound, and then chang- 
ing their course to the southwest, emerged from the 
fields into the open waters of Lancaster Sound. Here, 
on the 18th of August, they encountered a tremendous 
gale, which lasted about twenty-four hours. The two 
vessels parted company during the storm, and remained 
separate several days. Across Lancaster Sound, the 
Advance made her way to Barrow's Straits, and on the 
22d discovered the Prince Albert on the southern shore 
of the straits, near Leopold Island, a mass of lofty, 
precipitous rocks, dark and barren, and hooded and 
draped with snow. The weather was fine, and soon 
the ofiicers and crews of the two vessels met in friendly 
greeting. Those of the Prince Albert were much as- 
tonished, for they (being towed by a steamer,) left the 
Americans in Melville Bay on the 6th, pressing north- 
ward through the pack, and could not conceive how 
they so soon and safely penetrated it. Captain For- 
syth had attempted to reach a particular point, where 
he intended to remain through the winter, but finding 
the passage thereto completely blocked up with ice, he 
had resolved, on the very day when the Americans ap- 
peared, to " 'bout ship," and return home. This fact, 
and the disappointment felt by Mr. Snow, are mentioned 
in our former article. 

The two vessels remained together a day or two, 
when they parted company, the Prince Albert to re- 
turn home, and the Advance to make further explora- 
tions. It was off Leopold Island, on the 22d of Au- 
gust, that the " mad Yankee " took the lead through the 
vast masses of floating ice, so vividly described by Mr. 
Snow, and so graphically portrayed by the sailor-artist. 
" The way was before them," says Mr. Snow, who stood 
apon the deck of the Advance ; " the stream of ice had 
to be either gone through boldly, or a long detour made; 
and, despite the heaviness of the stream, they pushed 



3 



372 PROaRESS OF ARCTIC DtSCOrBR"?. 

the vessel through in her projper course. Two or three 
shocks, as she came in contact with some large pieces, 
were unheeded ; and the moment the last block was 
past the bow, tlie officer sung out, ' So : steady as she 
goes on her course ;' and came aft as if nothing more 
than ordinary sailing had been going on. I observed 
our own little bark nobly following in the American's 
wake ; and as I afterward learned, she got through it 
pretty well, though not without much doubt of the pro- 
priety of keeping on in such procedure after the ' mad 
Yankee,' as he was called by our mate." 

From Leopold Island the Advance proceeded to the 
Qorthwest, and on the 25th reached Cape Riley, an 
other amorphous mass, not so regular and precipitate 
as Leopold Island, but more lofty. Here a strong tide, 
setting in to the shore, drifted the Advance toward the 
beach, where she stranded. Around her were small 
bergs and large masses of floating ice, all under the 
influence of the strong current. It was about two 
o'clock in the afternoon when she struck. By diligent 
labor in removino: everv thino; from her deck to a small 
floe, she was so lightened, that at four o'clock the next 
morning she floated, and soon every thing was properly 
replaced. 

Kear Cape Kiley the Americans fell in with a por- 
tion of an English Expedition, and there also the 
Kescue, left behind in the gale in Lancaster Sound, 
overtook the Advance. There was Captain Penny 
with the Sophia and Lady Franklin ; the veteran Sir 
John Ross, with the Felix, and Commodore Austin, 
with the Resolute steamer. Tos^ether the naviofators 
of both nations explored the coast at and near Cape 
Riley, and on the 27th they saw in a cove on the shore 
of Beechey Island, or Beechey Cape, on the east side of 
the entrance to Wellingtoa Channel, unmistakable evi 
dence that Sir John Franklin and his companions were 
there in April, 1846. There they found many articles 
known to belong to the British iTavy, and some that 
were the property of the Erebus and Terror, the ships 
under the command of Sir John. There lay, bleached 



THE AMERICAN AliCTIC EXPEDITION. 



87^ 




to the whiteness of the surrounding snow, a piece of 
canvas, witP the name of the Terror, marked upon it 
with indestructible charcoal. It was very faint, yet 
perfectly legible. Near it was a 
guide board, lying flat upon its 
face, having been prostrated by 
the wind. It had evidently been 
used to direct exploring parties to 
the vessels, or rather, to the en- |^^\; 
campment on shore. The board 
was pine, thirteen inches in length 
and six and a half in breadth, and 
nailed to a boarding pike eight 
feet in length. It is supposed 
that the sudden opening of the 
ice, caused Sir John to depart 
hastily, and in so doing, this pike 
and its board were left behind. 
They also found a large number 
of tin canisters, 
such as are used 
for packing meats 
for a sea voyage; an 
anvil block : rem- 
nants of clothing, 
which evinced, by 
numerous patches 
and their thread- 
bare character,that 
they had been worn 
as long as the own- 
ers could keep them anvil block. guide board. 
on ; the remains of an India Rubber glove, lined with 
wool ; some old sacks ; a cask, or tub, partly filled with 
charcoal, and an unfinished rope-mat, which, like other 
fibrous fabrics, was bleached white. 

But the most interesting, and at the same time most 
melancholy traces of the navigators, were three graves, 
in a little sheltered cove, each with a board at the head, 
bearing the name of the sleeper below. These inscrip- 




376 



PROGKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 



tions testify positively when Sir John and his com pan 
ions were there. The board at the head^f the grave 
on the left has the following inscription : 

" Sacred to the memory of John Torrington, who 
departed this life, January 1st, a d., 1846, on board 
her Majesty's ship Terror, aged 20 years." 

On the center one — " Sacred to the memory of 
John Hartnell, A. B., of her Majesty's ship Erebus ; 
died, January 4:th, 1846, aged 25 years. ' Thus saith 
the Lord of Hosts, Consider your ways ;' Haggai, chap, 
i. 5, 7." 

On the right — " Sacred to the memory of W. Braine, 
R. M., of her Majesty's ship Erebus, who died April 3d, 
1846, aged 32 years. ' Choose you this day whom you 
will serve :' Joshua, chap, xxiv., part of the 15th verse." 




THREE graves AT BEECHEY. 

How much later than April 3d (the date upon the 
last-named head-board,) Sir John remained at Beechey, 
can not be determined. They saw evidences of his 
having gone northward, for sledge tracks in that di- 
rection were visible. It is the opinion of Dr. Kane 
that, on the breaking up of the ice, in the spring, Sir 
John passed northward with his ships through Welling- 
ton Channel, into the great Polar basin, and that he 
did not return. This, too, is the opinion of Captain 
Penny, and he zealously urges the British government 
to so'id a powerful screw steamer to pass through thai 



) / -1 



THE AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 379 

channel, and explore the theoretically more hospitable 
coasts beyond. This will doubtless be undertaken 
another season, it being the opinions of Captains Parry, 
Beechey, Sir John Koss, and others, expressed at a con- 
ference with the board of Admiralty, in September, that 
the season was too far advanced to attempt it the pres- 
ent year. Dr. Kane, in a letter to Mr. Grinnell, since 
the return of the expedition, thus expresses his opin- 
ion concerning the safety of Sir John and his com- 
panions. After saying, "I should think that he is 
now to be sought for north and west of Cornwallia 
Island," he adds, " as to the chance of the destruction 
of his party by the casualties of ice, the return of our 
own party after something more than the usual share 
of them, is the only fact that I can add to what we 
knew when we set out. The hazards from cold and 
privation of food may be almost looked upon as sub- 
ordinate. The snow-hut, the fire and light from the 
moss-lamp fed with blubber, the seal, the narwhal, the 
white whale, and occasionally abundant stores of mi- 
gratory birds, would sustain vigorous life. The scurvy, 
the worst visitation of explorers deprived of perma- 
nent quarters, is more rare in the depths of a polar 
winter, than in the milder weather of the moist sum 
mer ; and our two little vessels encountered both 
seasons without losing a man." 

Leaving Beechey Cape, our expedition forced its way 
through the ice to Barrow's Inlet, where they narrowly 
escaped being frozen in for the winter. They endeav- 
ored to enter the Inlet, for the purpose of making it 
their winter quarters, but were prevented by the mass 
of pg.ck-ice at its entrance. It was on the 4th of Sep- 
tember, 1850, when they arrived there, and after re- 
maining seven or eight days, they abandoned the 
attempt to enter. On the right and left of the above 
picture, are seen the dark rocks at the entrance of the 
Inlet, and in the center of the frozen waters and the 
range of hills beyond. There was much smooth ice 
within the Inlet, and while the vessels lay anchored 
to the " field." officers and crew exercised and amused 



380 PROGRESS OF AKCrriO DISCOVERY. 

themselves hj skating. On the left of the Inlet, (in 
dicated by the dark conical object,) they discovered a 
Cairn, (a heap of stones with a cavity,) eight or ten 
feet in height, which was erected by Captain Ommaney 
of the English Expedition then in the polar waters. 
Within it he had placed two letters, for " Whom it 
might concern." Commander De Haven also depos- 
ited a letter there. It is believed to be the only post 
office in the world, free for the use of all nations. The 
rocks, here, presented vast fissures made by the frost ; 
and at the foot of the cliff on the right that powerful 
agent had cast down vast heaps of debris. 

From Barlow's Inlet, our expedition moved slowly 
westward, battling with the ice every rood of the way, 
until they reached Griffin's Island, at about 96° west 
longitude from Greenwich. This was attained on the 
11th, and was the extreme westing made by the expe- 
dition. All beyond seemed impenetrable ice ; and, 
despairing of making any further discoveries before the 
winter should set in, they resolved to return home. 
Turning eastward, they hoped to reach Davis' Strait 
by the southern route, before the cold and darkness 
came on ; but they were doomed to disappointment. 
ITear the entrance to Wellington Channel they became 
completely locked in by hummock-ice, and soon found 
themselves drifting with an irresistible tide up that 
channel toward the pole. 

Now began the most perilous adventures of the navi- 
gators. The summer day was drawing to a close ; the 
diurnal visits of the pale sun were rapidly shortening, 
and soon the long polar night, with all its darkness and 
horrors, would fall upon them. Slowly they drifted in 
those vast fields of ice, whither, or to what result, they 
knew not. Locked in the moving yet compact mass ; 
liable at every moment to be crushed ; far away from 
land ; the mercury sinking daily lower and lower from 
the zero figure, toward the point where that metal 
freezes, they felt small hope of ever reaching home again. 
Yet they prepared for winter comforts and winter sports, 
as cheerfully as if lying safe in Barlow's Inlet. As th© 



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THE AiEEEICAN ABCTlO EXPEDITION. 385 

<^nter advanced, the crews of both the vessels went on 
board the larger one. They unshipped the rudders of 
each, to prevent their being injured by the ice, covered 
the deck of the Advance with telt, prepared their stores, 
and made arrangements for enduring the long winter, 
now upon them. Physical and mental activity being 
necessary for the preservation of health, they daily ex- 
ercised in the open air for several hours. They built 
ice huts, hunted the huge white bears and the little polar 
foxes, and when the darkness of the winter night had 
spread over them they arranged in-door amusements 
and employments. 

Before the end of October, the sun made its appear- 
ance for the last time, and the awfiil polar night 
closed in. Early in November they wholly abandoned 
the Rescue, and both crews made the Advance their 
permanent winter home. The cold soon became in- 
tense ; the mercury congealed, and the spirit thermome- 
ter indicated 46° below zero ! Its average range was 
30° to 35°. They had drifted helplessly up Wellington 
Channel, almost to the latitude from whence Captain 
Penny saw an open sea, and which all believe to be 
the great polar basin, where there is a more genial 
clime than that which intervenes between the Arctic 
Circle and the 75th degree. Here, when almost in 
sight of the open ocean, that mighty polar tide, with 
its vast masses of ice, suddenly ebbed, and our little 
vessels were carried back as resistlessly as before, 
through Barrow's Straits into Lancaster Sound! All 
this while the immense fields of hummock-ice were 
moving, and the vessels were in hourly danger of being 
crushed and destroyed. At length, while drifting 
through Barrow's Straits, the congealed mass, as if 
crushed together by the opposite shores, became more 
compact, and the Advance was elevated almost seven 
feet by the stern, and keeled two feet eight inches, star- 
board. In this position she remained, with very little 
alteration for five consecutive months ; for, soon after 
entering Baffin's Bay in the midst of the ^dnter, the 
ice became frozen in one immense tract, covering rail 



386 PROGRESS Oi* ARCTIC DISCOVKRV. 



t> 



lions of acres. Thus frozen in, sometimes more than a 
hundred miles from land, they drifted slowly along the 
southwest coast of Baffin's Bay, a distance of more than 
a tliousand miles from Wellington Channel. For eleven 
weeks that dreary night continued, and during that 
time the disc of the sun was never seen above the hori 
zon. Yet nature was not w^iolly forbidding in as]3ect 
Sometimes the Aurora Borealis would flash up still 
further northward ; and sometimes Aurora Parhelia — 
mock suns and mock moons — would appear in varied 
beauty in the starry sky. Brilliant, too, were the north- 
ern constellations ; and when the real moon was at its 
full, it made its stately circuit in the heavens, without 
descending below the horizon, and lighted up the vast 
piles of ice with a pale luster, almost as gre.at as the 
morning twilights of more genial skies. 

Around the vessels the crews built a wall of ice ; and 
in ice huts they stowed away their cordage and stores 
to make room for exercise on the decks. They organ- 
ized a theatrical company, and amused themselves and 
the officers with comedy well performed. Behind the 
pieces of hummock each actor learned his part, and 
by means of calico they transformed themselves into 
female characters, as occasion required. These dramas 
were acted on the deck of the Advance, sometimes 
while the thermometer indicated 30° below zero, and 
actors and audiences highly enjoyed the fun. They 
also w^ent in parties during that long night, fully armed, 
to hunt the polar bear, the grim monarch of the frozen 
North, on which occasions they often encountered peril-; 
ous adventures. They played at foot-l)all, and exercised/ 
themselves in drawing sledges, heavily laden with pro- 
visions. Five hours of each twenty-four, they thus exer- 
cised in the open air, and once a week each man washed 
his whole body in cold snow water. Serious sickness 
was consequently avoided, and the scurvy which at- 
tacked them soon yielded to remedies. 

Often during that fearful night, they expected the 
disaster of having their vessels crushed. All through 
November and December, before the ice became £ast 



rUK AMKKlOAN ARCTTIC EXPEDITION. 88Y 

tlioj slept in their clothes, with knapsacks on their 
backs, and sledgec upon the ice, laden with stores, not 
knowing at what moment the vessels might be demol- 
ished, and themselves forced to leave them, and make 
their way toward land. On the 8th of December, and 
the 23d of January, they actually lowered their boats 
and stood upon the ice, for the crushing masses Avero 
making the timbers of the gallant vessel creak and its 
decks to rise in the center. Tliey were then ninety 
miles from land, and hope hardly whispered an encour- 
aging idea of life being sustained. On the latter occa- 
sion, when officers and crew stood upon the ice, with 
the ropes of their provision sledges in their hands, a 
terrible snow-drift came from the northeast, and intense 
darkness shrouded them. Had the vessel then been 
crushed, all must have perished. But God, who ruled 
the storm, also put forth His protecting arm and saved 
them. 

Early in February the northern horizon began to be 
streaked with gorgeous twiliglit, the herald of the ap- 
proaching king of day ; and on the 18th the disc of 
the sun first appeared above the horizon. As its golden 
rim rose above the glittering snow-drifts and piles of 
ice, three hearty cheers went up from those hardy mar 
iners, and they welcomed their deliverer from the 
chains of frost as cordially as those of old who chanted, 

"See ! tlie conquering hero comes, 
Sound the trumpet, beat the drums.'* 

Day after day it rose higher and higher, and wliile the 
pallid faces of the voyagers, bleached during that long 
night, darkened by its beams, the vast masses of ice 
began to yield to its fervid influences. The scurvy dis- 
appeared, and from that time, until their arrival home, 
not a man suffered from sickness. As they slowly 
drifted through Davis' Straits, and the ice gave indica- 
tions of breaking up, the voyagers made preparations 
for sailing. The Rescue was re-occupied, (May 13«th, 
1851,) and her stone-post, which had been broken by 
the ice in Ban ow's Straits, was repaired. To accom- 
plish ^is, tl'.ey were obliged to dig away the ice which 



S88 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

was from 12 to 14 feet thick around her, as represented 
in the engravirg. They reshipped their rudders ; re- 
moved the felt covering ; placed their stores on deck, 
and then patiently awaited the disruption of the ice 
This event was very sudden and appalling. It began 
to give way on the 5th of June, and in the space of 
twenty minutes the whole mass, as far as the eye could 
reach, became one vast field of moving floes. On the 
10th of June, they emerged into open water, a little 
south of the Arctic Circle, in latitude 65° 30'. They 
immediately re])aired to Godhaven, on the coast of 
Greenland, where they refitted, and, unappalled by the 
perils through which they had just passed, they once 
more turned their prows northward to encounter anew 
the ice squadrons of Baffin's Bay. Again they trav- 
' ersed the coast of Greenland to about the 73d de- 
gree, when they bore to the westward, and on the Ttb 
and 8th of July, passed the English whaling fleet near 
tJie Dutch Islands. Onward they pressed through 
the accumulating ice to Baffin's Island, where, on 
the 11th, they were joined by the Prince Albert, then 
out upon another cruise. They continued in com- 
pany until the 3d of August, when the Albert departed 
for the westward, determined to try the more south 
ern passage. Here again oui* expedition encountered 
vast fields of hummock-ice, and were subjected to the 
most imminent j)eril8. The floating ice, as if moved by 
adverse currents, tumbled in huge masses, and reared 
upon the sides of the sturdy little vessels like monsters 
of the deep intent upon destruction. These masses 
broke in the bulwarks, and sometimes fell over upon 
the decks with terrible force, like rocks rolled over a 
plain by mountain torrents. The noise was fearful ; bo 
deafening that the mariners could scarcely hear each 
other's voices. The sounds of these rolling masses, to- 
gether with the rending of the icebergs floating near, 
and the vast floes, produced a din like the discharge of 
a thousand pieces of ordnance upon a field of battle. 
Finding the north and west closed against furthei 
progress, by impenetrable ice, tlie brave I)e Haven was 



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THE AMERICAK ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 393 

l.alked, and turning his vessels homeward, they came 
out into an open sea, somewhat crippled, but not a 
plank seriously started. During a storm off the banks 
of Newfoundland, a thousand miles from New York, 
the vessels parted company. The Advance arrived 
safely at the Navy Yard at Brooklyn on the 30th of 
September, and the Rescue joined her there a few days 
afterward. Toward the close of October, the govern- 
ment resigned the vessels into the hands of Mr. Grin- 
nell, to be used in other service, but with the stipulation 
that they are to be subject to the order of the Secretary 
of the Navy in the spring, if required for another 
expedition in search of Sir John Franldin. 

We have thus given a very brief account of the prin- 
cipal events of interest connected with the American 
Arctic Expedition ; afnll report of which, and detailed 
narratives have been published. Aside from the suc- 
cess whicli attended our little vessels in encountering the 
perils of the polar seas, there are associations which must 
forever hallow the effort as one of the noblest exliibitions 
of the true glory of nations. The navies of America and 
England have before met u^^on tlie ocean, but they met 
for deadly strife. Now, too, they met for strife, equally 
determined, but not with each otlier. They met in the 
holy cause of benevolence and human sympathy, to 
battle with the elements beneath tlie Arctic Circle ; and 
the chivalric heroism which the few stout liearts of tlie 
two nations displayed in tliat terrible conflict, redounds 
a thousand-fold more to the glory of the actors, their 
governments, and the race, than if four-score ships 
with ten thousand armed men had fouglit for the mas- 
tery of each other upon the broad ocean, and battered 
hulks and marred corpses had gone down to the coral 
caves of the sea, a dreadful offering to the demon of 
Discord. In the latter event, troops of widows and or- 
phan children would have sent up a cry of wail ; now, 
the heroes advanced manfully to rescue husbands and 
fathers to restore tliem to their wives and children. 
How glorious the thought! and how suggestive of the 
beauty of that fast approacliing day, when the nntl^^it. 



394 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCO 7KRY. 

shall sit down in peace as united children of one 
household. 

Winter in the Arctic Ocean. 

The following narrative, sliowing the way the wintei 
of 1851-52 was passed by those engaged in tlie recen 
arctic expedition, is from the official report made by 
Lieut. De Haven, the Commander of the expedition 

" On the morning of the 13th Sept., 1850, the wind 
having moderated sntiiciently, we got under way, and 
working our way tlirough some streams of ice, arrived 
in a few hours at ' Griffith's ' Ishxnd, under the lee of 
which we found our consort made fast to the shore, 
where she had taken shelter in the gale, her crew hav- 
ing suffered a good deal from the inclemency of the 
weather. In bringing to under the lee of the island, 
she had the misfortune to spring her rudder, so tliat on 
joining us, it was with much difficulty she could steer. 
To insure her safety and more rapid profi^ress, she was 
taken in tow by the Advance, when she oore up with 
a fine breeze from the westward. Off Cape Martyr, 
we left the English squadron under Capt. Austin. 
About ten miles further to the east, the two vessels un- 
der Capt. Penny, and tliat under Sir John Eoss, were 
seen secured near the land. At 8 p. m.. we had ad- 
vanced as far as Cape llotham. Thence as far as the 
increasing darkness of the nis^lit enabled us to see, there 
was nothing to obstruct our progress, except the bay 
ice. This, with a good breeze, would not have im- 
peded us much ; but unfortunately the wind, when it was 
most required, failed us. The snow, with which the 
surface of the water was covered, rapidly cemented, 
and formed a tenacious coat, through which it was im- 
possible with all our appliances to force the vessels. At 
8 p. M., they came to a dead stand, some ten miles to 
the east of Barlow's Inlet. 

"The following day the wind hauled to the southward, 
from which quarter it lasted till the 19th. During this 
period the yoimo ice was broken, its edges squeezed up 



WINTKR IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 395 

like liammocks, and one fioe overrun by another until 
it all assumed the a])])earance of lieavy ice. The ves- 
sels received some licavv ni])s from it, but they with- 
stood them without injury. Whenever a j)Ool of water 
made its appearance, every effort was made to reach it, 
in hopes that it would lead ug into Beechey Island., or 
some other place where tlie vessel might be placed ii\ 
security ; for the winter set in unusually early, and the 
severity with which it commeiiced, forbade all herpes 
of our being able to return this season. I now became 
anxious to attain a point in the neighborhood, from 
whence by means of land parties, in the spring, a goodly 
extent of Wellington Channel mio:ht be examined. 

" In the mean time, under the influence of the south 
wind, w^e were being set up the channel. On the IStli 
we were above Cape Bowxlen, the most northern point 
seen on this shore by Parry. The land on both shores 
was seen much further, and trended considerably to the 
west of north. To accouut for this drift, the fixed ice 
of Wellington Cliannel, which we had observed in pass- 
ing to the westward, must have been broken uj) and 
driven to the southward by the heav}^ gale of tlie 12th. 
On the 19th the wind veered to the north, which gave 
us a southerl}^ set, forcing us at the same time with the 
western shore. This did not last long ; for the next day 
the wind hauled again to the south, and blew fresh, 
bringing the ice in u})on us with miicii ])ressure. At 
midnight it broke up all around us, so that we had work 
to maintain the Advance in a safe })osition, and keep 
her from l)eing se})arated from her consort, which was 
immovably fixed in tlie center of a large floe. 

'* We continued to drift slowly to the N. N. W., until 
ihfi 22d, when our progress appeared to be arrested by 
a small low island, which was discovered in that direc- 
tion, about seven miles distant. A channel of three or 
four miles in width separated it from Cornwallis Island. 
This latter island, trending N. W. from our ])osition, 
terminated abruptly in an elevated ca])e, to which I 
have given the name of Manning, after a warm ])er- 
scnal friend and ardent snj^porter of the ex])edition. 



396 PBOGKESS OF iVRCTIC DISCOVERT. 

Between Cornwallis Island and some distant Hgh Ian 
visible in the north, appeared a wide channel leading 
to the westward. A dark, misty-looking cloud which 
hu.ng over it, (technically termed frost-smoke,) was in- 
dicative of much open water in that direction. This 
was the direction in which my instructions, referring to 
the investigations of the National Observatory, concern 
ing the winds and currents of the ocean, directed me to 
look for open water. 'Nor was the open water the only 
indication that presented itself in confirmation of this 
theoretical conjecture as to a milder climate in that 
direction. As we entered "Wellington Channel, the 
signs of animal life became more abundant, and Cap- 
tain Penny, commander of one of the English expe- 
ditions, who afterward penetrated on sledges much 
toward the region of the ' fi'ost-smoke,' much further 
than it was possible for us to do in our vessels reported 
that he actually arrived on the borders of this open sea. 
"Thus, these admirably drawn instructions, deriving 
arguments from the enlarged and comprehensive sys- 
tem of physical research, not only pointed with em- 
phasis to an unknown sea into which Franklin had 
probably found his way, but directed me to search for 
traces of his expedition in the very channel at the 
entrance of which it is now ascertained he had passed 
his first winter. The direction in which search with 
most chances of success is now to be made for the 
missing expedition, or for traces of it, is no doubt in 
the direction which is so clearly pointed out in my in- 
structions. To the channel which appeared to lead 
into the open sea over which the cloud of ' frost-smoke' 
hung as a sign, I have given the name of Maury, after 
the distinguished gentleman at the liead of our N'ational 
Observatory, w^i )^e theory with regard to an open sea 
to the north is likely to be realized through this chan- 
nel. To the large mass of land visible between K. W. 
to N. IST. E., I gave the name of Grinnell, in honor of 
the head and heart of the man in whose philanthropic 
mind originated the idea of this expedition, and ■'"c 
whose munificence it owes its existence. 



^WINTER IN THE AKCTIC OCEAU. 397 

" To a remarkable peak hearing 'N. JN". E. from us, 
distant about forty miles, was given the name of 
Mount Franklin. An inlet or harbor immediately to 
the north of Cape Bowden was discovered by Mr. 
Griffin in his land excursion from Point Innes, on the 
27th of August, and has received the name of Griffin 
Inlet. The small island mentioned before was called 
Murdaugh's Island, after the acting master of the Ad- 
vance. The eastern shore of Wellington Channel aj)- 
peared to run parallel with the western, but it became 
quite low, and being covered with snow, could not be 
distinguished with certainty, so that its continuity with 
the high land to the north v/as not ascertained. Some 
small pools of open water appearing near us, an attempt 
was made about fifty yards, but all our combined 
effi)rts were of no avail in extricating the Rescue from 
her icy cradle. A change of wind not only closed the 
ice up again, but threatened to give a severe nip. We 
unshipped her rudder and placed it out of harm's way. 

" September 22d, was an uncomfortable day. The 
wind was from IST. E. with snow. From an early hour 
in the morning, the floes began to be pressed together 
with so much force that their edge was thrown up in 
immense i*idges of rugged hummocks.- The Advance 
was heavily nipped between two floes, and the ice was 
piled up so high above the rail on the starboard side 
as to threaten to come on board and sink us witli its 
weight. All hands were occupied in keeping it out. 
The pressure and commotion did not cease till near 
midnight, when we were very glad to have a respite 
from our labors and fears. The next day we were 
threatened with a similar scene, but it fortunately 
ceased in a short time. For the remainder of Septem- 
ber, and until the 4th of October, the vessels drifted 
but little. The winds were very light, the thermometer 
fell to minus 12, and ice formed over the pools in sight, 
fiufficiently strong to travel upon. We were now 
strongly impressed with the belief that the ice had be- 
come fixed for the winter, and that we should be able 
to send out traveling parties from the advanced position 



398 PROGRESS OF ARCTTC DISC50TERY. 

for the examination of tlie lands to the ixorthward 
Stimulated by this fair prospect, another attempt wan 
made to reach the shore in order to establish a depo^ 
of provisions at or near Cape Manning, which would 
materially facilitate the progress of our parties in th«» 
spring ; but the ice was still found to be detached fronr* 
the shore, and a narrow lane of water cut us from it. 

" During the interval of comparative quiet, prelimi 
nary measures were taken for heating the Advance 
and increasing her quarters, so as to accomodate the 
officers and crew of both vessels. No stoves had as 
yet been used in either vessel ; indeed they could not 
well be put up without placing a large quantity of stores 
and fuel upon the ice. The attempt was made to do 
this, but a sudden crack in the floe where it appeared 
strongest, causing the loss of several tons of coal, con- 
vinced us that it was not yet safe to do so. It was not 
until the 20th of October, we got fires below. Ten 
days later the housing cloth was put over, and the offi- 
cers and crew of the Kescue ordered on board the Ad- 
vance for the winter. Room was found on the deck of 
the Rescue for many of the provisions removed fcom 
the hold of this vessel. Still a large quantity had to 
be placed on the ice. The absence of fire below had 
caused much discomfort to all hands ever since the be- 
ginning of September, not so much from the low tem- 
perature, as from the accumulation of moisture by 
condensation, which congealed as the temperature de- 
creased, and covered the wood work of our apartmeiits 
with ice. This state of things soon began to work its 
efiect upon the health of the crews. Several cases of 
scurvy appeared among them, and notwithstanding the 
indefatigable attention and active treatment resorted to 
by the medical officers, it could not be era licated — its 
progress, however, was checked. 

"All .'hrough October and l^ovember, we were drifted 
to and fro by the changing wind, but never passing out 
of Wellington Channel. On the 1st of November, the 
new ice had attained the thickness of 37 inches. Still, 
frequent breaks would occur in it, often in fearful prox 



WINTEK IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 399 

unity to the vessels. Hummocks consisting of massive 
granite-like blocks, would be thrown up to the height 
of twenty, and even thirty feet. This action in the ice 
was accompanied with a variety of sounds impossible 
to be described, but when heard never failed to carry a 
feeling of awe into the stoutest hearts. In the stillness 
of an arctic night, they could be^'heard several miles, 
and often was the rest of all hands disturbed bv them. 
To guard against the worst that could happen to us — - 
the destruction of the vessels — the boats were prepared 
and sledges built. Thirty days' provisions were placed 
in for all hands, together with tents and blanket bags 
for sleeping in. Besides this, each man and officer had 
his knapsack containing an extra suit of clothes. The^e 
were all kept in readiness for use at a moment's notice. 
"For the sake of wholesome exercise, as w^ell as to in- 
ure the people to ice traveling, frequent excursions were 
made with our laden sledges. The officers usually took 
the lead at the drag ropes, and they, as well as the men 
underwent the labor of surmounting the rugged hum- 
mocks, with great cheerfulness and zeal. Notwith- 
standing the low temperature, all hands usually returned 
in a profuse perspiration. We had also other sources 
of exercise and amusements, such as foot-ball, skating, 
sliding, racing, with theatrical representations on holi- 
days and national anniversaries. These amusements 
were continued throughout the winter, and contributed 
very materially to the cheerfulness and general good 
health of all hands. The drift had set us gradually to 
the S. E., until we were about five miles to the S. W. 
jf Beechey Island. In this position we remained com- 
paratively stationary about a week. We once more 
began to entertain a hope that we had become fixed for 
die winter, but it proved a vain one, for on the last day 
of November a strong wind from the westward set in, 
with thick snowy weather. The wind created an im- 
mediate movement in the ice. Several fractures took 
place near us, and many heavy hummocks were thrown 
up. The floe in which our vessels were imbedded, was 
being rapidly encroached upon, so that we were in mo 

Q 40 



tOO 1'rogrp:ss of akctic discover j:-. 

mentarj fear of the ice breaking from around tliem, 
and that tliey would be once more broken out and left 
to the tender mercies of the crashing floes. 

" On tlie following day (the 1st of December) the 
weather cleared off, and tlie few hours of twilight 
which ^'o had about noon, enabled us to get a glimpse 
of the land. As well as we could make it out, we ap- 
peared to be off Gascoigne Inlet. We were now clear 
of Wellington Channel, and in the fair way of Lan- 
caster Sound, to be set either up or down, at the mercy 
of the prevailing winds and currents. We were not 
long left in doubt as to the direction we had to pursue. 
The winds i)re vailed from the westward, and our drift 
was steady and rapid toward the mouth of the Sound. 
The prospect before us was now any thing but cheering. 
We were deprived of our last fond hope, that of be- 
coming fixed in some position whence operations could 
be carried on by means of traveling parties in the 
spring. The vessels were fast being set out of the 
I'egion of search. Nor was this our only source of un- 
easiness. The line of our drift was from two to five 
miles from the nortli shore, and whenever the moving 
ice met with any of the capes or projecting points of 
land, the obstruction would cause fractures in it, ex- 
tending off to and far beyond us. Cape Hurd was the 
first and most prominent point — we were but two 
miles from it on the 3d of December. Nearly all day 
tlie ice was both seen and heard to be in constant mo- 
tion at no great distance from us. In the evening a 
crack on our floe took place not more than twenty-five 
yards ahead of the Advance. It opened in the course 
of the evening to the width of 190 yards. 

" No fui'tlicr disturbance took place until noon of the 
5th, when we were somewhat startled by the familiar 
and unmistakable sound of the ice grinding against 
the side of the ship. Going on deck, I perceived that 
another crack had taken place, passing along the length 
of the vessel. It did not open more than a foot; tliis, 
however, was sufficient to liberate tlie vessel, and she 
rose several inches boddy, having become more buoy- 



WINTER IN THE AKCTIO OCEAN. 401 

aiit since she froze in. The following day, in the 
evening the crack opened several yards, leaving the 
sides 01 the Ad\ ance entirely free, and she was once 
more snpjDorted by and rode in her own element. We 
were not, thongh, by any means, in a pleasant situation. 
The floes were considerably broken in all directions 
around us, and one crack had taken place between the 
two vessels. The Rescue was not disturbed in her bed 
of ice. 

"December 7th, at 8 A. M., the crack in which we 
were, had opened and formed a lane of water fifty-six 
feet wide, communicating ahead at the distance of sixty 
feet with ice of about one foot in thickness, which had 
formed since the 3d. The vessel was secured to the 
largest floe near us (that on which our spare stores wei*e 
deposited.) At noon, the ice was again in motion, 
and began to close, nffording us the pleasant prospect 
of an inevitable nip between two floes of the heaviest 
kind. In a short time the prominent points took our 
side, on the starboard, just about the main-rigging, and 
on the port under the counter, and at the fore-rigging ; 
thus bringing three points of pressure in such a position 
that it must^have proved fatal to a larger or less 
strengthened vessel. The Advance, however, stood it 
bravely. After trembling and groaning in every joint, 
the ice passed under and raised her about two and 
a half feet. She was let down again for a moment, 
and then her stern was raised about flve feet. Her 
bows being unsupported, were depressed almost as 
much. In this uncomfortable position we remained. 
The wind blew a gale from the eastward, and the ice 
all around was in dreadful commotion, excepting, for- 
tunately, that in immediate contact with us. The com- 
motion in the ice continued all through the night; and 
we were in momentary expectation of the destruction 
of both vessels. Tlie easterly gale had set us some 
two or three miles to the west. As soon as it was Yig^ht 
enough to see on the 9th, it was discovered that the 
heavy ice on which the Kescue had been imbedded 
f)r so long a time, w^as entirely broken up, and piled 



402 PROGRESS OF AKCIIC DISCOVKKY. 

up around her in massive hummocks. On her pumpa 
being sounded, I was gratified to learn that she remained 
tight, notwithstanding the immense straining and 
pressure she must have endured. 

" During this period of trial, as well as in all former 
and subsequent ones, I could not avoid being struck 
with the calmness and decision of the officers, as well 
as the subordination and good conduct of the men, 
without an exception. Each one knew the imminence 
of the peril that surrounded us, and was prepared to 
abide it with a stout heart. There was no noise, no 
confusion. I did not detect, even in the moment when 
the destruction of the vessel seemed inevitable, a sin- 
gle desponding look among the whole crew ; on the 
contrary, each one seemed resolved to do his whole 
duty, and every thing went on cheerily and bravely. 
For my own part, I had become quite an invalid, so 
much so as to prevent my taking an active part in the 
duties of the vessel as I had always done, or even from 
incurring the exposure necessary to proper exercise. 
However, I felt no apprehensions that the vessel would 
not be properly taken care of, for I had perfect confi- 
dence in one and all by whom I was surrounded. I 
knew them to be equal to any emergency, but I felt 
under special obligations to the gallant commander 
of the Rescue, for the efiicient aid he rendered me. 
With the kindest consideration, and the most cheerful 
alacrity, he volunteered to perform the executive duties 
during the winter, and relieve me from every thing 
that might tend in the least to retard my recovery. 

" During the remainder of December, the ice re- 
mained quiet immediately around us, and breaks were 
all strongly cemented by new ice. In onr neighbor- 
hood, however, cracks were daily visible. Our drift 
to the eastward averaged nearly six miles per day ; so 
that on the last of the month we were at the entrance 
of the Sound, Cape Osborn bearing north from us. 

"January, 1851. — On passing out of the Sound, and 
opening Baffin's Bay, to the north was seen a dark hori- 
zon, indicating much oy en water in that direction. Oc 



WINTER IN TfiE ARCTiC OCEAN. 40^ 

the 11th, a crack took place between us and the Rescue, 
passing close under our stern, and forming a lane of 
water eighty feet wide. In the afternoon the floes be- 
^an to move, the lane was closed up, and the edges of 
the ice coming in contact with so much pressure, threat- 
ened the demolition of the narrow space which sepa 
rated us from the line of fracture. Fortunately, the 
floes aga^n separated, and assumed a motion by which 
the Rescue passed from our stern to the port bow, and 
increased her distance from us 709 yards, where she 
came to a stand. Our stores that were on the ice were 
on the same side of the cracks as the Rescue, and of 
course were carried with her. The following day the 
ice remained quiet, but soon after midnight, on tlie 
13th, a gale having sprung up from the westward, it 
once more got into violent motion. The young ice in 
the crack near our stern was soon broken up, the edges 
of the thick ice cama in contact, and fearful pressures 
took place, forcing up a line of hummocks which ap- 
proached within ten feet of our stern. The vessel 
trembled and complained a great deal. 

" At last the floe broke up around us into many 
pieces, and became detached from the sides of the 
vessel. The scene of frightful commotion lasted until 
4 A. M. Every moment I expected the vessel would 
be crushed or overwhelmed by the massive ice forced 
up far above our bulwarks. The Rescue being further 
I'emoved on the other side of the crack from the line 
of crushing, and being firmly imbedded in heavy ice, 
I was in hopes would remain undisturbed. This was 
not the case; for, on sending to her as soon as it was 
light enough to see, the floe was found to be broken 
away entirely up to her bows, and there formed into 
such high hummocks that her bowsprit was broken ofl", 
together with her head, and all the light wood work 
about it. Had the action of the ice continued much 
longer, she must have been destroyed. We had the 
misfojtune to find sad havoc had been made among 
the stores and provisions left on the ice; and few bar- 
rels were recovered ; but a large portion were crushed 
and had disappeared. *"• ^ ^ 



404: PEOGKESS OF ARCTIC MSCOVEHY. 

" On the morning of the 14th there was again some 
motion in the floes. That on the port side moved off 
from the vessel two or- three feet and there became 
stationary. This lefr the vessel entirely detached 
from the ice round the water line, and it was expected 
she would once more resume an upright position. In 
this, however, we were disappointed, for she remained 
with her stern elevated, and a considerable lift to star- 
board, being held in this uncomfortable position by the 
heavy masses which had been force i under her bottom 
She retained this position until she finally broke out 
in the spring. We were now fully launched into Baf- 
fin's Bay, and our line of drift began to be more south- 
erly, assuming a direction nearly parallel with the 
western shore of the Bay at a distance of from 40 to 
70 miles from it. 

" After an absence of 87 days, the sun, on the 29th 
of January, rose his whole diameter above the south- 
ern horizon, and remained visible more than an hour. 
All hands e^ave vent to delis^ht on seeino^ an old friend 
again, in three hearty cheers. The length of the days 
now went on increasing i-apidly, but no warmth was 
yet experienced from the sun's raj^s ; on the contrary 
the cold became more intense. Mercury became con- 
gealed in February, also in March, which did not occur 
at any other period during the winter. A very low 
temperature was invariably accompanied with clear 
and calm weather, so that our coldest days were per- 
haps the most pleasant. In the absence of wind, we 
could take exercise in the open air without any incon- 
venience from the cold. But with a strong wind blow 
ing, it was dangerous to be exposed to its chilling blasts 
for any length of time, even when the thermometer 
indicated a comparatively moderate degree of tem- 
perature. 

" The ice around the vessels soon became cemented 
again and fixed, and no other ruj^ture was experienced 
until it finally broke up in the spring, and allowed us 
to escape. Still we kept driving to the southward 
along with the n hole mass. Open lanes of water were 



tVlNTfiB m TflE ARC3TIC OCEAl?. 405 

visible at all times from aloft ; sometimes they would 
be formed within a mile or two of us. Narv^hals, 
seals, and dovekys were seen in them. Our sports- 
men were not expert enough to procure any, except a 
few of the latter ; although they were indefatigable in 
their exertions to do so. Bears would frequently be 
seen prowling about ; only two were killed during the 
winter ; others were wounded, but made their escape. 
A few of us thought their flesh very palatable and 
wholesome ; but the majority utterly rejected it. The 
flesh of the seal, when it could be obtained^ was re- 
ceived with more favor. 

" As the season advanced, the cases of scurvy became 
more numerous, yet they were all kept under control 
by the unwearied attention and skillful treatment of 
the medical officers. My thanks are due to them, es- 
])ecially to Passed Assistant Surgeon Kane, the senior 
medical officer of the expedition. I often had occa- 
sion to consult him concerning the hygiene of the 
crew, and it is in a great measure owing to the advice 
which he gave and the expedients which he recom- 
mended, that the expedition was enabled to return 
without the loss of one man. By the latter end of 
February the ice had become sufficiently thick to en- 
able us to build a trench around the stern of the Kes- 
cue, sufficiently deep to ascertain the extent of the 
injury she had received in the gale at Griffith's Isl- 
and. It was not found to be material ; the upper gud- 
geon alone had been wrenched from the stern post. It 
was adjusted, and the rudder repaired in readiness for 
shipping, when it should be required. A new bow- 
sprit was also made for her out of the few spare spars 
we had left, and every thing made seaworthy in both 
vessels before the breaking up of the ice. 

'* In May, the noon-day began to take effect upon the 
snow which covered the ice ; the surface of the floes 
became watery, and difficult to walk over. Still the 
dissolution was so slow in comparison with the mass 
to be dissolved, that it must have taken it a long pe- 
riod to become liberated from this cause alone. MorQ 



406 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

was expected from our southerly drift, which still con* 
tinned, and must soon carry us into a milder climate 
and open sea. On the 19th of May, the land about 
Cape Searle was made out, the first that we had seen 
since passing Cape Walter Bathurst, about the 20th of 
January. A few days later we were off Cape Walsing- 
ham, and on the 27th, passed out of the Arctic Zone. 

" On the 1st of April, a hole was cut in some ice that 
had been forming since our first besetment in Septem- 
ber; it was found to have attained the thickness of 7 
feet 2 inches. In this month, (April,) the amelioration 
of the temperature became quite sensible. All hands 
were kept at work, cutting and sawing the ice around 
the vessels, in order to allow them to float once more. 
With the Kescue, they succeeded, after much labor, in 
attaining this object ; but around the stern of the Ad- 
vance, the ice was so thick that our 13 feet saw was too 
short to pass through it ; her bows and sides, as far aft 
as the gangway, were liberated. After making some 
alteration in the Rescue for the better accommodation 
of her crew, and fires being lighted on board of her 
several days previous, to remove the ice and dampness, 
which had accumulated during the winter, both officers 
and crew were transferred to her on the 24th of April. 
The stores of this vessel, which had been taken out, 
were restored, the housing cloth taken off, and the ves- 
sel made in every respect ready for sea. There was 
little prospect, however, of our being able to reach the 
desired element very soon. The nearest water was a 
narrow lane more than two miles distant. To cut 
through the ice which intervened, would have been next 
to impossible. Beyond this lane, from the mast-head, 
nothing but intermediate floes could be seen. It was 
thought best to wait with patience, and allow nature to 
work for us. 

" June 6th, a moderate breeze from S. E. with pleasant 
weather — thermometer up to 40 at noon, and altogether 
quite warm and melting day. During the morning a 
peculiar cracking sound was heard on the floe. I was 
mclined to impute it to the settling' of the snowdrifts as 



WINTER IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 40t 

they were acted upon by the sun, but in the afternoon, 
about 5 o'clock, the puzzle was solved very lucidly, and 
to the exceeding satisfaction of all hands. A crack in 
the floe took place between us and the Rescue, and in 
a few minutes thereafter, the whole immense field in 
which we had been imbedded for so many months, 
was rent in all directions, leaving not a piece of 100 
yards in diameter. The rupture was not accompanied 
with any noise. The Rescue was entirely liberated, 
the Advance only partially. The ice in which her after 
part was imbedded, still adhered to her from the main 
chains aft, keeping her stern elevated in its unsightly 
position. The pack, (as it may now be called,) became 
quite loose, and but for our pertinacious friend acting 
as an immense drag upon us, we might have made 
some headway in any desired direction. All our efforts 
were now turned to getting rid of it. With saws, axes, 
and crowbars, the people went to work with a right 
good will, and after hard labor for 48 hours succeeded. 
The vessel was again afloat, and she righted. The joy 
of all hands vented itself spontaneously in three hearty 
cheers. The after part of the false keel was gone, be- 
ing carried away by the ice. The loss of it, however, 
I was glad to perceive, did not materially affect the 
sailing or working qualities of the vessel. The rudders 
were shipped, and we were once more ready to move, 
as efiicient as on the day we left New York. 

"Steering to the S. E. and working slowly through the 
loose but heavy pack, on the 9th we parted from the 
Rescue in a dense fog, she taking a different lead from 
the one the Advance was pursuing." 



408 progress of aectlo discovery. 

Grouot) for Hope. 

Mr. Wm. Penny, of Aberdeen, states in a letter to 
the Times, that Capt. Martin, who, when commanding 
the whaler Enterprise, in 1845, was the last person to 
communicate with Sir. J. Franklin, has just informed 
liim that the Enterprise was alongside the Erebus, in. 
Melville Bay, and Sir John Franklin invited him, 
(Capt. Martin,) to dine with him, which the latter de 
clined doing, as the wind was fair to go south. Sir 
John, while conversing with Capt. Martin, told him 
that he had five years' provisions, which he could 
make last seven, and his people were busily engaged 
in salting down birds, of which they had several casks 
fall already, and twelve men were out shooting more. 
"To see such determination and foresight," observes 
Mr. Penny, " at that early period, is really wonderful, 
and must give us the greatest hopes." Mr. Penny 
says that Capt. Martin is a man of fortune, and of the 
strictest integrity. 

The following is the deposition of Capt. Martin, just 
received in the London Times, of Jan. 1, 1862, con- 
taining the facts above alluded to : 

Robert Martin, now master and commander of the 
whaleship Intrepid, of Peterhead, solemnly and sin- 
cerely declares that on the 22d day of July, 1845, when 
in command of the whale ship Enterprise, of Peter- 
head, in lat. 76° 10', long. 66° W., calm weather, and 
towing, the Erebus and Terror were in company. These 
ships were alongside the Enterprise for about fifteen 
minutes. The declarant conversed with Sir John 
Franklin, and Mr. E-eid, his ice-master. The conver- 
sation lasted all the time the ships were close. That 
Sir John, in answer to a question by the declarant if 
he had a good supply of provisions, and how long he 
expected them to last, stated that he had provisions 
for five years, and if it were necessary he could "make 
them spin out seven years ;" and he said further, that 
he would lose no opportunity of killing birds, and 
whatever else was useful that came in the way, to keep 



GUOTJNl) FOB HOPE. 409 

up their stock, and that he had plenty of powder and 
shot for the purpose. That Sir John also stated that 
he had already several casks of birds salted, and had 
then two shooting parties out — one from each ship. 
The birds were very numerous ; manj^ would fall at a 
single shot, and the declarant has himself killed forty 
at a shot with white pease. That the birds are very 
agreeable food, are in taste and size somewhat like 
young pigeons, and are called hy the sailors " rotges." 

That on the 26thor 28th of said month of July, two 
parties of Sir John's officers, who had been out shoot- 
ing, dined with the declarant on board the Enterprise. 
There was a boat with six from each ship. Their con- 
versation was to the same eifect as Sir John's. They 
spoke of expecting to be absent four or ^yq^ or per- 
haps six years. These officers also said that the ships 
would winter where they could find a convenient place, 
and in spring push on as far as possible, and so on 
year after year, as the determination was to push on 
as far as practicable. 

That on the following day, an invitation was brought 
to the declarant, verbally, to dine with Sir John, but 
the wind shifted, and the Enterprise having cut through 
the ice about a mile and a half, the declarant was 
obliged to decline the invitation. That he saw the 
Erebus and Terror for two days longer; they were 
still lying at an iceberg, and the Enterprise was mov- 
ing slowly down the country. That so numerous were 
the birds mentioned, and so favorable was the weather 
for shooting them, that a very large number must have 
been secured during the time the declarant was in 
sight of the two ships. The Prince of Wales whaler 
wh,s also within sight during the most of the time. 
Chat from the state of the wind and w^eather for a pe- 
riod of 10 days, during part of which the declarant 
vas not in sight of the two ships, the best opportunity 
vas afforded for securing the birds. That the birds 
described are not to be found at all places on the fish- 
ing ground during the whaling season, but are met 
with in vast numbers e^ ^eason on certain feeding 



m 



PEOGKESS OF ABCTIC DiSCOTEElf. 



banks ana places lor broodiiig, and it appeared at the 
time by the declarant to be a most fortunate circum- 
stance that the Erebus and Terror had fallen in with 
so many birds, and that the state of the weather was 
so favorable for securing large numbers of them. The 
declarant has himself had a supply of the same de 
scription of birds, which kept fresh and good during 
three months, at Davis' Strait, and the last were as 
good as the first of them. 

Which declaration, above written, is now made 
conscientiously, believing the same to be true. 

Robert Martin. 

Declared, December, 29th, 1851, before 

E.. Geath, Provost of Peterhead. 




VOYAGE OF THE STEAMEE ISABEL. 411 

A Summer's Search for Sir John Franklin, with a 
Pass into the Polar Basin, by Commander E. A. 
Inglefield, in the Screw Steamer Isabel, in 1852. 

The profound interest which the heroism and mys- 
terious fate of Sir John Franklin, have excited m the 
public mind, occasioned other expeditions to start in 
pursuit of him^ both from England and the United 
States, the details of whose adventures are in the 
highest degree entertaining. On the 12th of July, 
1852, Commander Inglefield took his departure in 
the English steamer Isabel, from Fair Island; and 
sailed forth toward the frozen realms of the north, to 
which so many other bold adventurers had already 
been attracted. His crew consisted of seventeen per- 
sons, including two ice-masters, a mate, surgeon, en- 
gineer, stoker, two carpenters, cook, and eight able 
seamen, who had been whalers. The two ice-masters, 
Messrs. Abernethy and Manson, were already well 
known in " Arctic Cirles," as having been connected 
with former expeditions, and as having great experi- 
ence in the perils incident to adventurous travel in 
that perilous zone. The vessel was provided with 
fuel and provisions for several years. 

On the 30th of July the expedition gained their 
first distant glimpse of the snowy mountains of Green- 
land. On the same day the first icebergs sailed ma- 
jestically past them. Ere midnight the Isabel was 
completely surrounded by those massive monuments 
of the northern seas. Already the utmost caution 
was necessary to prevent a fatal collision between 
them and the little steamer which slowly and adroitly 
elbowed her way through their rolling masses. In 
spite o^.* the utmost prudence, the Isabel occasionally 
struck instantly she trembled from stem to stern, 
recoiled for a moment, but then again recovered and 
advanced upon her way. The advantages of a screw- 
steamer for the purposes of navigating polar seas 
filled with floatiig ice, were already apparent at this 



4:12 PKOGBESB OF ARCTIC DISCOVEKY. 

early stage of the expedition. The propelling power 
being placed at the stern of the vessel, and not at 
the sides, enabled her to worm her way unresisted 
through very many narrow dehles, which a steam- 
ship of ordinary structure, or even a sailing vessel 
could not have done. 

On the 7th of August the expedition reached the 
neighborhood of Fiskernoes, a Danish settlement; 
and they were there visited by some Esquimaux in 
their canoes. Guided by these pilots they entered 
the harbor on which their village is built. They vis- 
ited the Danish governor, M. Lazzen, and were kindly 
, entertained by him. A few goats supplied his family 
with milk, and a very small garden protected from 
•the storms of that climate by artificicial means, af- 
forded them a few vegetables during the summer 
months. M. Lazzen furnished the vessel with some 
salmon, codfish, and milk. The residence of the gov- 
ernor in this inhospitable region, consisted of a small 
house two stories high, built in an antique but sub- 
stantial manner. A Danish clergyman visits this ob- 
scure and remote spot once every two weeks, and 
preaches to the governor and to the colony of rude 
Esquimaux over whom he rules. 

On the 10th of August the Isabel resumed her 
journey. She then sailed for the harbor of Lievely, 
in which the expedition obtained a few supplies of 
sugar, soap, and plank, which they needed ; but they 
tailed to obtain here either dogs or interpreters. On 
the 15th, they found themselves off Upernavick, a 
settlement in which they obtained these necessaries. 
This Greenland village consists of two or three 
wooden houses for the Danisli settlers, and a few mud 
huts for the Esquimaux. In sailing out from this 
harbor the steam-engine suddenly stopped, and nei- 
ther the commander nor the engineer was able to 
discover {he diliiculty. They were completely puz- 
zled, until at length it was ascertained that the screw 
at the stern had caught in a loose cable which lloated 



• VOYAGE OF THE STEAMER ISABEL. 413 

in the water, whicli had become wound around the 
screw so tightly, and in such a manner, as to eventu 
ally impede its revolutions and stop the engine. 

After the adjustment of this singular and unusual 
difficulty, the vessel continued her voyage. On the 
17th of August she reached Buchan Islands, passing 
in her way innumerable icebergs of gigantic size, 
which reeled and tumbled in the deep, and occasion- 
ally split up into many fragments, with a roar more 
grand and deafening tltian that of thunder. On this 
day the vessel lost her main-boom ; which in falling on 
the deck, struck the standard compass and damaged 
it. In a short time the injuries to both were re- 
paired, and the Isabel held on her hyperborean way. 

Having arrived at Wolstenholme Sound, the navi- 
gators examined the site of the former winter quar- 
ters of the " ITorth Star," and had the melancholy 
pleasure of inspecting the lonely graves where the 
remains of several of her crew were laid to repose. 
Captain Inglefield and his officers and men went on 
shore with pickaxes and shovels. The place is called 
North Ornenak ; and one Adam Beek, a seamen in 
one of the former Arctic expeditions, had asserted 
that here Sir John Franklin had been assailed by the 
savage and starving natives ; that here he and his 
crew had been massacred ; and that here in large 
cairns they had been buried. The story was an im- 
probable one ; but Captain Inglefield determined to 
examine the spot thoroughly, and test the truth of 
the report. Several large cairns were indeed here 
found, composed of heavy rough stones. They were 
immediately pulled down and their interiors inspected. 
But nothing was discovered save a large quantity of 
fish bones and the bones of other animals, which 
seem to have been deposited there for some future 
use. In the village itself, composed of a few un- 
derground hovels, occupied by half starved Esqui- 
maux, were found a quantity of seal and walrus fiesli, 
intended to supply the wants of nature during the 

26 



414: PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

nine long months of winter, which these wretched 
beings are compelled each year to endure. 

Captain Inglefield determined to continue the 
thorough examination of the shores of Wolstenholme 
Sound. He did so, and discovered several islands 
which were not to be found on any chart. These 
islands he respectively termed the Three Sister Bees, 
Manson Isle, and Abernethy Isle. During this por- 
tion of the cruise, the voyageurs had not encoun- 
tered as yet much of the severe extremes of northern 
cold. It was still mid-summer, and the trim steamer 
was able in the absence of compact ice, to sail rap- 
idly through known and unknown seas, in opposition 
both to tide and wind. On the 25th, the Isabel 
reached the Gary Islands ; and from this point began 
the voyage of Captain Ingletield into untraveled 
waters, and into regions which had not been explored, 
at least in a northward direction, by any of his pre- 
decessors. At this point, in the summer months, a 
few wretched Esquimaux manage to support exist- 
ence ; and Captain Inglefield carefully examined 
their hiits to ascertain whether any memento of the 
expedition of Sir John Franklin might exist among 
them. No article of European manufacture was 
found, except a knife-blade stamped B. Wilson, set in 
an ivory handle, a broken tin canister, and several 
small pieces of steel, curiously Hxed in a piece of bone. 
A piece of rope was also obtained, having an eye in 
it ; but this was supposed to have drifted ashore from 
some whaling vessel. No trace of the lost naviga- 
tors had as yet been seen since the commencement 
of this expedition. 

Captain Inglefield resumed his voyage, and as he 
rapidly invaded those new seas, through the tireless 
power of steam, he discovered many new islands, at 
that period of the year free from their monstrous bur- 
dens of ice, to which he gave appropriate names. 
One he called Northumberland Island, another Her- 
bert Island, and a third, Milne Island. At this point 



VOYAGE OF THE STEAMEB ISABEL, 4:15 

a strait, to which he applied the name of Murchison, 
opened out in an eastern direction, and invited them 
to enter on its exploration, with tempting prospects 
of discovery. But as Sir John Franklin's instructions 
had been to travel northward and westward from this 
point, if he ever reached it, it was evidently necessa- 
ry to follow that designated route, if the intention to 
seek him was still retained. Accordingly Captain In- 
glefield was compelled to relinquish the exploration 
of this summer sea. On the 26th of August the Is- 
abel reached Cape Alexander, and still boldly steer- 
ing northward, the gallant craft passed the confines 
of the Polar Sea, and was about to make her adven- 
turous dip into the Polar Basin. The soundings at 
this point were 145 fathoms. It was at this time the 
hope of Captain I. that from this point he might find 
his way to Behring's Strait, and might discover the 
missing navigator somewhere upon this remote line 
of travel. 

Even in this distant northern latitude, the weather 
still remained fair and temperate. The splendors of 
that clime in mid-summer, transcend the power of 
language to depict. The sun, shooting his unob- 
structed rays far into the northern hemisphere, tinges 
the boundless fields of half-melted snow with crimson 
hues ; and a brightness and brilliancy fill the heav- 
ens, which almost remind the observer of the boasted 
beauties and charms of an Italian sky. Those Polar 
solitudes now resounded with the unaccustomed ech- 
oes of the steamship, which glided rapidly over half 
frozen wastes, which sailing vessels could •i>nly have 
traversed at a very slow and tedious rate 

Captain Inglefield was now exploring what is 
known as Smith's Sound, the upper or northern con- 
tinuation of Baffin's Bay. The western shore of this 
body of water, which forms a part of the Polar Ocean, 
was composed of a high range of frozen mountains. 
These were called after the Prince of Wales. The 
extreme northern point of these mountains received 



416 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

the name of Yictoria Head, in honor of the British 
queen. Thus also on the eastern shore of this sea, the 
most northern point discovered by Captain I. he named 
after the Danish monarch, Frederick VII. After 
steaming several days longer in a north-western di- 
rection, an observation was made of the position of 
the vessel, when it was found that she had reached 
78° 28' 21" north latitude. From this it appears that 
Captain Inglefield has the credit, according to his own 
computation, of reaching the distance of 140 miles 
further north than had been attained by any previ- 
ous navigator. The vessel was now surrounded by 
immense floating icebergs. The frozen shores of the 
ocean receded far away to the east and to the west. A 
furious storm of wind and hail drove directly in the 
face of the bold navigators, as they continued their 
course toward the pole. IsTo traces of Sir John Frank- 
lin had yet been discovered. To further persist in 
the course in which they were then sailing, was only 
calculated to hem them in with the oceans of ice 
which the rapidly approaching winter would congeal 
around them ; and the moment had arrived, in the 
progress of the expedition, when it became necessary 
to determine what final course should be pursued. 
While the commander and his officers were deliber- 
ating on the most suitable decision to be selected, 
the vessel was suddenly surrounded with perils such 
as she had not encountered since the commencement 
of the voyage. A vast land-pack of ice had floated 
from the west, unperceived through the heavy fog ; 
and immediately the Isabel became involved in its 
angry, turbulent, and dangerous embrace. The swell 
lifted the ship far into the pack ; and the violence 
and fury of the troubled masses were indicated by 
the loud roar of the waters surging on the vast floe- 
pieces by which the vessel was surrounded. The 
frightful chaos of rolling masses, tossing the vessel to 
and fro like a feather in their midst, seemed to render 
escape from the impending peril of being eithei 



VOYAGE OF THE STEAMER ISABEL. 4:17 

crushed or submerged, almost impossible. The only 
possibillitj of rescue consisted in threading their way 
amid the rolling and tossing fragments, by the aid of 
the steam engine, after first getting the head of the 
vessel free from its contact with the ice. As the ves- 
sel carefully and slowly went forward amid the float- 
ing ice, immense masses dropped astern one after an- 
other into her wake. She escaped at length through 
every danger ; though the edges of the fan of the 
screw were brightened from frequent abrasion against 
the ice. 

Captain Inglefield now continued to sail eastward. 
He passed by and observed new islands which were 
then unknown and nameless, to which he applied ap- 
propriate epithets. On the 1st of September the sea 
had become so completely encumbered with the float- 
ing ice as to make the further progress of the vessel 
both difficult and dangerous. Captain Inglefield then 
determined to steer for the purpose of meeting the 
squadron of Sir Edward Belcher, which had also been 
sent out for the purpose of searching those seas for 
Sir John Franklin by the British government ; and 
which would winter there in accordance with their 
instructions. Captain Inglefield was induced to pur- 
sue this course in order that he might carry his sur- 
plus provisions, stores, and coals to that squadron ; 
and that he miglit convey to them the latest news and 
information from England. It was his intention then, 
unless some special service required his exertions, to 
return to England with intelligence from the squad- 
ron of Sir E. Belcher, and the prospects of success 
which still attended their labors of discovery. That 
squadron Captain Inglefield knew was then stationed 
at Beechey Island, and thither he immediately steered. 

So severe had tlie weather already become, that the 
heavy seas which broke over the Isabel continually 
froze, and her bows became one mass of ice, binding 
the anchor fast to her side. After several days of 
rapid sailing, Beechey Island was reached ; but the 



4:18 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

North Star alone was found there. The rest of Sir 
E. Belcher's squadron had sailed, about three weeks 
before, up Wellington channel, and it was supposed 
that he had steered thence through the open waters 
beyond Parry Strait. 

It was on this Island that Captain Inlegfield was 
shown the three graves of some of Sir John Franklin's 
crew, to which reference has already been made on 
page 376 of this volume. Plunging through the 
snow which was knee-deep, he reached, under the 
guidance of one of the officers of the North Star, those 
sad and lonely resting places of mortality. He found 
them unchanged from what they had been when 
visited by Lieutenant De Haven ; and he was in- 
formed by his guide that a polar bear of monstrous 
size was frequently seen keeping his grim and cheer- 
less vigils over the dead, and sitting on the graves. 
Captain Inglefield picked up some of the meat canis- 
ters which lay scattered on the island, and some relics 
of canvas and wood which were supposed to have be- 
longed to the missing ships. He obtained from the 
commander of the ]N orth Star all the information ne- 
cessary in reference to the condition and prospects of 
Sir John Belcher and Captain Kellett, both of whom 
held commands in that squadron. They had as yet 
discovered no trace of Sir John Franklin ; but it was 
their purpose to pass the winter in the Polar Seas, for 
the purpose of renewing their researches in the en- 
suing spring. 

As this voyage of the Isabel was only a summer 
cruise, and as tlie vessel was neither adapted nor in- 
tended to confront the overwhelming rigors of the 
winter season in the Arctic regions, it was but proper 
that, as the season was now rapidly advancing, Cap- 
tain Inglefield should resume his voyage homeward, 
to escape the greater perils which delay would entail. 
Accordingly, on the 10th of September the Isabel com- 
menced to sail in, a southern direction. On the 12th 
she reached Mount Possession. On the lith she was 



VOlTAGE OF THE STEAMER ISABEL. 419 

opposite Cape Bowen. Captain Inglefield landed 
>iere to examine the traces of a cairn, whicli was said 
tso exist. But lie saw nothing save the large and deep 
ibotprints of a great Polar bear, and those of the small 
Arctic fox. 

Here the further progress of the Isabel along the 
coast was stopped by the presence of vast fields of ice. 
It became necessary to press along the edge of the 
pack, and seek for an opening to permit her to ad- 
vance. 'Th.\& pack seemed to have been collected 
here by the immense icebergs which had run aground 
on the Hecla and Griper banks, and thence drifted 
south by the c<>iitinual current which existed on those 
western shores. The pack stretched away, as far as 
the eye could leA^h, both southward and northward. 
A storm of snow came on, such as one sees only in 
Arctic latitudes. The sea also became exceedingly 
rough and boisterone; and wave after wave broke 
over the whole length of the vessel. Each plunge 
filled the rigging and iiiiiig the spars with monstrous 
icicles; and the waves irozo as they flooded the deck, 
the ropes, and the sails ; so that the hands of the sail- 
ors were frozen fast the instant they touched either 
of them. 

On the 21st of September tii^ weather moderated, 
and the Isabel boldly dashed through the crevices 
and channels of the pack. Pancake ice was rapidly 
forming around them, giving the mariners warning 
that they must soon vacate that i(.»caiity, or else be 
frozen in, beyond the power of deliverance, for the 
winter. Hapidly the Isabel dashed forward, impelled 
by the unwearied power of her engine. By noon on 
the 23d, she had cleared the pack, had traveled a hun- 
dred and seventeen miles in twenty-four hours, and 
found herself in 69° north latitude. Here Captain 
Inglefield encountered a gale of the itmost fury, 
which continued during five days incessantly. The 
ocean waves now attained the size of mountains, and 
exceeded in violence and fury even those which lash 



420 PEOGKESS OF ABCTIO DISCOVEEV. 

the bold promontory of Cape Horn, where the waters 
of two great oceans roll together in hostile rivalry. 
Vast waves continually flooded the decks fore and 
aft. Torrents of water drenched almost every portion 
of the vessel, carrying the seamen with it into the lee 
scuppers. The drifting sleet and snow drove so fierce- 
ly into the eyes of the sailors, that it was almost im- 
possible for them to see, or to execute orders. IN^ev- 
ertheless, the gallant ship sailed manfully through it 
all, and safely outrode the gale, though with the loss 
of her spare spars, and the total ribboning of her 
sails. 

In order to repair this damage Captain Inglefield 
was compelled, after the storm lulled, to steer for the 
nearest port of Holsteinburg, in order to make repairs. 
This port he reached on the 2d of October. During 
the week which the captain spent here, the anniver- 
sary of the birth-day of the king of Denmark occurred ; 
which gave an occasion for the observation of the 
peculiarities of the Esquimaux tribes, who here live 
as the remotest subjects of that monarch, under the 
superintendence of a governor sent from Copenhagen. 
An entertainment was given at the house of the gov- 
ernor. Esquimaux of both sexes attended, danced 
their native dances, drank their brandy-punch fur- 
nished both by the governor and by Captain Ingle- 
field, and became elated and uproarious in the ex- 
treme. The governor's wife was an Esquimaux wo- 
man ; and Captain Inglefield had the honor of exe- 
cuting with her, the intricate mazes of an Esquimaux 
quadrille, to the monotonous scraping of a crippled 
fiddle, bound around and held together with divers 
strings and splinters. 

On the 7th of October the Isabel again put to sea, 
and again she encountered a storm of unusual vio- 
lence. The helmsman was very nearly washed over- 
board. On the 13th the gale moderated, and tha 



VOYAGE OP THE STEAMER ISABEL. 421 

vessel then continued her way across the Atlantic. 
No incident worthy of special notice occurred during 
the rest of the homeward voyage. On the 4:th of No- 
vember the Isabel anchored at Stromness, having been 
absent precisely four months from the day of starting. 
And although this expedition, taking place as it did 
in the summer months, was devoid of the usual ex- 
treme horrors and vicissitudes which attend Arctic 
researches, it accomplished results which were by no 
means of secondary importance. Captain Inglefield 
carefully examined the unknown eastern shore of the 
Polar Basin, as far north as 78° 35', throwing con- 
siderable light upon the disputed question, whether 
Baffin's Bay opens into the Polar Basin. He also 
explored the waters of the shores of Smith Sound, in 
search of Sir John Franklin, but in vain. Jones 
Sound was then examined, with the same result, and 
he ascertained the probable fact that this sound is a 
gulf having no outlet, except perhaps by some small 
frozen strait into the Polar Sea. Lancaster Sound 
was also visited, and the western coast of Baffin's Bay 
as far south as the river Clyde. Throughout a coast 
of six hundred continuous miles, many alterations and 
additions were made in the geography of those coun- 
tries. And altogether, for a private expedition of 
no very great expense, executed in a small vessel, 
though amply provisioned and stored, the results at- 
tained were as important as could reasonably have 
been expected. 

Eighteen moih'hs m the Polar Regions in seaeoh of 
Sm John Franklin's Expedition, in the tears 
1850 — 51, BY Lieutenant Shekakd Osbobn, with 
the Steam Yessels Pioneeb and Ljtbepid. 

In May, 1850, this expedition was fitted out at 
Woolwich, for the purpose of continuing the search 
after the missing mariners. The instructions of the 
British Admirality to the commander were, that he 



422 pRoanEss of arctic discovert. 

should examine Barrow's Straits south-westerly to 
Cape Walker, westerly toward Melville Island, and 
north-westerly up Wellington Channel. 

On the 26th of May the expedition approached the 
shores of Greenland, and came within view of Cape 
Farewell. They proceeded rapidly on until they 
reached their first place of stoppage, the Whale Fish 
Isles. A day was spent here in taking in provisions 
and fowls. From this point the view of the shores 
of Greenland at a distance was picturesque in the 
extreme. Its glaciers, its lofty peaks, and its frozen 
headlands presented every variety of shape ; while 
between them and the vessels, the sea was covered 
with an infinite variety of tossing icebergs of every 
possible size and proportion, exhibiting the richest 
emerald hues, and glowing with the deepest azure 
tints. The awful silence of the scene was impressive 
in the highest degree, a silence which would often be 
suddenly broken by a distant roar reverberating 
along the surface of the deep, and among the frozen 
masses. It was the breaking up of some vast ice- 
bergs, whose fragments would roll over into the sea, 
plunge beneath its surface, and cover the spot of its 
descent with foam and spray. This process was re- 
peated at short intervals, in every direction of the 
compass around them, and as far as their eyes could 
reach. 

The 29th of June still found Captain Osborn cruising 
opposite the northern extremity of Greenland. He 
here began to experience the dangers that accom- 
panied the necessity which he sometimes felt of an- 
choring to icebergs. This operation is frequently in- 
dispensable in Arctic regions, when progress in the 
required direction is for a time impossible. The ice- 
bergs in consequence of their immense size are often 
aground, and thus seamen may anchor fast to them 
in two hundred fathoms of water, without any more 
trouble than digging a hole in the iceberg, and in- 
serting a hook into it, called an ice-anchor. This is 



LIEUTENANT 09BORN's EXPEDITION. 423 

attached to a whale line, which enables the ship to 
ride out under the lee of this natural breakwater, and 
often thus to escape both the violence of the winds, 
and the rude shocks of a lee pack. 

But the dangers which sometimes accompany this 
process are considerable. Sometimes the very first 
stroke of the man setting the ice-anchor, causes a por- 
tion of the iceberg to break off, and the persons em- 
ployed in the work run great risk of being crushed by 
the falling masses. Sometimes pieces of ice become 
detached from the upper portions of the berg, and 
falling on the ships below, have injured spars, and 
crushed sailors to death. Occasionally these masses 
have been so immense as even to sink the vessel. 

On the 6th of July Captain Osborn had his first 
experience of the real perils of the Arctic world. All 
hands were at dinner when the news suddenly came 
down from the deck, that a vast body of ice was ap- 
proaching under the pressure of a strong southerly 
gale. A heavy brown vapor preceded it, under 
which the ice gleamed fiercely, and the floes were rap- 
idly pressing together. The best security against 
danger in cases of this kind, is the preparation of 
docks in the body of the ice, which are cut in the 
portion which is firm and solid. Into these the ships 
' are then inserted, and they are thus protected from 
the collisions of the loose fragments. In this case 
one hundred persons were instantly on the solid ice 
their triangles were rigged, and their long ice-saws 
were at work. A bundled manly voices accompanied 
their labor with the jolly sailor songs of merry old 
England. The ice was about three feet in thickness, 
and the saws employed were ten feet in length. Yery 
soon the vast cavity intended to receive the ships began 
to take form and shape, and they then were removed 
into them. The relief was much needed ; for the 
pressure of the pack extended itself some ten miles 
to the north of the position of the vessels ; the col- 
lisions between the floes and the iceberg became pro- 



124 PROaRESS OF ARCTiO DISCOVERY. 

digious ; and had the ships been between them, they 
would inevitably have suffered severely. But safely 
ensconced in their docks, the expert seamen could 
gaze with pleasure at the sublime spectacle presented 
for many miles on either side of them. 

In spite of the vigilance of Capt Osborn, his ships 
became entangled on the 20th of July, in the midst 
of a heavy pack, six feet in thickness. So great was 
the pressure that every plank and timber was crack- 
ing and groaning. The vessels were thrown over on 
their sides, and lifted up bodily, the bulkheads crack- 
ing, the decks arching from the strain, and even the 
scupper-pieces turning out from their mortices. The 
ice was rapidly piling up a^ high as the bulwarks, 
around the vessels. There seemed to be no possible 
remedy against the destruction of the ships. The 
sailors quickly brought their bundles of clothes on 
deck, for the purpose of taking refuge on the ice. 
At this moment a deep dent in the side of the Pion- 
eer, and the breaking of twenty-one of her timbers, 
indicated her great danger. But fortunately, at the 
very moment when it was thought that she must be 
crashed to pieces, the strain of the floe-edge suddenly 
eased, and the sliip was saved from destruction. 

From the 20th to the 31st of July the squadron con- 
tinued to pursue their route ; yet so impenetrable was 
the ice, that but seven miles was made during the 
whole of that interval, in the right direction ! By 
the 13th of August the squadron had passed through 
Mellville Bay, and had reached Cape York. They 
were still a considerable distance from the chief point 
of research. Yet here they were detained for two 
days in chasing up the groundless fabrication of Ad- 
am Beek, alluded to in the previous article, in refer- 
ence to the destruction of Sir John Franklin and his 
crews at this point, by the native Esquimaux. 

On the 15th of August Captain Osborn struck west- 
ward, and entered a wide sea of water which seemed 
unobstructed by the ic^. The shores of this portion 



LIEUTENANT OSBOKN's EXPEDITION. 425 

of Baffin's Bay, which is termed the "West Land, ap- 
peared to be free from snow, and to be even compar- 
atively verdant and genial. At Button's Point the 
commander landed, and was able, at this season of 
the summer, to kill both deer and salmon. The na- 
tives of this region had here erected numerous un- 
roofed winter houses, of the rudest structure ; and 
the navigators discovered many cairns, standing gen 
erally in pairs. These were instantly pulled down, 
for the purpose of discovering their hidden contents. 
Nothing however was found of a suspicious or sug- 
gestive nature. These cairns seemed to be nothing 
but marks erected by the Esquimaux, to enable them 
to discover, on the return of winter, the places where 
they had stored their sea-blubber cache. A ring of 
stones several feet high were all the indications of 
these Esquimaux huts which appeared above the sur- 
face of the ground. 

It was on the 22d of August that this expedition 
entered Lancaster Sound. This is the great gate-way 
to those Arctic waters, around which so many thrill- 
ing associations cluster of maritime adventure, suffer- 
ing, and discovery. It was first explored by the bold 
Baffin, two hundred years ago, and was named by 
him after the duke of Lancaster. Baffin termed it a 
sound. Sir John Ross, forty years since, discovered 
that it was a bay ; and Parry, who has not unfitly 
been termed the prince of Arctic navigators, until 
the vastly superior abilities and services of the im- 
mortal Kane justly deprived him of that honorable 
eminence, explored this bay throughout the extent of 
600 miles toward Behring's Straits. 

It was to complete the exploration of the remain- 
ing 600 miles of this unknown region, that the expe- 
dition of Sir John Franklin and his 140 gallant asso- 
ciates had been devoted. Hence in pursuing this 
line of travel and adventure. Lieutenant Osborn 
justly supposed that he was following the most prob- 
able and most certain course to ascertain the fate of 



i26 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

that lost and unfortunate expedition. He had al- 
ready discovered one important fact in reference to 
the phenomena of the Arctic regions ; or if he had 
not absolutely discovered it, he ascertained its cer- 
tainty. This was that the iceberg, the most wonder- 
ful peculiarity of those climes, is the creation of the 
glacier. It had formally been supposed, even by the 
most learned, that the iceberg was the accumulation 
of the ice and snow which the lapse of ages had pro- 
duced ; that a vast circle of ice many miles in height 
and depth, surrounded the pole like an eternal belt ; 
that these huge cupolas of ice towered far up into 
the cheerless heavens of the north ; transcending in 
size and altitude the utmost creations of human arch- 
itecture ; and that these stupendous icebergs were 
merely fragments which had become detached, prob- 
ably by their own weight, from the parent mass, and 
had then floated away into more southern seas. This 
fanciful concej)tion has now been exploded ; and it 
is proved that the iceberg is only known to exist 
where there is land of a nature adapted to form the 
glacier. Accordingly, Captain Osborn reasoned that 
where icebergs burdened the ocean, glacier lands 
could not be far distant ; and he directed the move- 
ments of his exploring squadron accordingly. It was 
by following this principle that Sir James Ross dis- 
covered the circumpolar continent of Queen Victo- 
ria's Land, in the Southern or Antarctic hemisphere. 
On the 26th of August the ships entered Regent's 
Inlet. The nights were only two hours in duration. 
Next day a pack of ice was discovered some 10 miles 
to the eastward. They instantly sailed westward, 
giving the intruders- very wide sea-room. They soon 
reached Beechey's Island, on which the three graves 
of Sir John Franklin's seamen were to be found, and 
other evidences which showed that he had sojourned 
there during 1845-46, the first winter of their ab- 
sence. This circumstance confuted the opinions of 
those who lield that Sir John Franklin had perished 



LIEUTENANT OSBORN'S EXPEDITION. 427 

in the depths of Baffin's Bay on his outward voyage ; 
and proved that he had advanced safely to a very re- 
mote point in Arctic travel and discovery. On 
Beechey's Island Captain Osborn saw another mourn- 
ful trace of Sir John Franklin. It was the remnant 
of a garden, with a neatly shaped oval outline, the 
borders carefully covered with moss, lichen, and an- 
emones, which he had transplanted from a more ge- 
nial clime ; and these even yet continued to show 
some traces of vitality. At some distance from this 
garden the foundations of a store-house were discov- 
ered. These consisted of an interior and exterior 
embankment, into which oak and elm scantling had 
been stuck, as supports to the roofing. Within the 
enclosure some empty coal-sacks w^re found, an(!i 
some wood shavings. It is probable that this store- 
house had been constructed by Sir John Franklin to 
preserve a portion of the abundant provisions with 
which his decks had been encumbered when he left 
Whale Fish Islands. Captain Osborn also discovered 
a pair of Cashmere gloves which had been laid out 
to dry by one of the lost crews ; on each of which a 
small stone had been placed to prevent them from 
being swept away by the wind. They had rested 
there, having been probably forgotten by their owner, 
ever since 1846 ! 

Again on this occasion were the three lonely graves 
of Sir John Franklin's seamen scanned by a sailor's 
eye, and wept over by those gallant adventurers. 
These graves are simple and neat in their appearance, 
such as British sailors erect over the bodies of their 
departed messmates, in every quarter of the globe, 
whether in the frozen zones of the north, the coral- 
girded isles of the south, the verdant and spicy vales 
of the east, or the gold- gifted climes of the west. 
They are graves which remind the observer of some 
quiet church-yard in England or in our own land, 
where the departed sleep beneath the very eaves of 
the humble sanctuary, surrounded by the green turf, 



i28 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

the waving grass, and the blooming rose, with wh'ch 
the hand of affection, or the undisturbed fruitfulness 
of nature has surrounded them. One grave of the 
three is especially suggestive of mourniul thoughts. 
It is that of " J. Hartnell, B. A., of the ship Erebus; 
died January 4:th, 1846. Aged 25 years." Here 
was a youth who had been reared amid the classic 
shades and the ennobling associations of one of En- 
gland's great universities — either a Cantab or an Ox- 
onian — and strange to say, he was destined to lay his 
form to take its long last sleep in the lonely and cheer- 
less solitude of that fi >zen zone ; and that, too, in the 
prime of his years, and far distant from all that was 
connected with the brilliant hopes of his youthful 
days I 

When about to leave Beechey Island, Captain Os- 
born found it difficult to determine what course 
should be taken. It was evident that Sir John Frank- 
lin had selected one of three routes, in 1846. The 
first was south-west by Cape Walker; the second, 
north-west by Wellington Channel ; the third, west 
by Melville Island. Yague reports were current 
among the crews, that some of Captain Penny's peo 
pie had seen sledge-marks on the eastern shores of 
Erebus and Terror Bay. Captain Osborn determined 
in person, first to explore Beechey Island, in that di- 
rection. He landed on the north shore of Union 
Bay, at the base of the cliffs of Cape Spencer, and 
soon discovered a deep sledge-mark which had been 
cut through the edge of one of the ancient natural 
terraces on the beach. It was in a line between the 
cairn of meat cans which Franklin had erected on 
the northern spur of Beechey Island, to a valley be- 
tween the Capes Ennes and Buwdeu. From its ap- 
pearance, it had been evidently an uutward-bound 
sledge, and its depth denoted that it was heavily la- 
den. It was an additional evidence of the former 
presence of Franklin on that island. Upon further 
examination, various other sledge-marks were di& 



LIEUTENANT OBBORN's EXPEDITION. 429 

covered on the island. At one spot they were very 
numerous, and proved that there a rendezvous had been 
appointed for the purpose of landing some of the 
contents of the ships. From this point some of the 
sledge marks ran northward into a gorge through the 
hills ; others were directed toward Caswell's Tower, a 
singular mass of limestone rock, on the shore of Rad- 
stock Bay, which served as a useful landmark to all 
vessels approaching either from the east or the west. 

Captain Osborn here divided his party, and each 
followed the sledge-marks in an opposite direction. 
He discovered the site of a circular tent, which had 
evidently been constructed and used by a shooting 
party from the Erebus or Terror. The stones which 
had been used to confine the canvas to its place, lay 
around. Several large stones well blackened with 
smoke, indicated where the fire-place had been ; and 
porter-bottles, meat-cans, pieces of paper, and feath- 
ers, were strewed about. Yet no written line or 
mark was detected, to throw any light on the great 
mystery which occupied their minds. After seven 
hours of hard walking. Captain Osborn and his men 
returned to the ships. Such were all the traces 
which the utmost industry and scrutiny could dis- 
cover of Sir John Franklin, in this last known spot 
of his habitation. From the 1st to the 4th of Sep- 
tember the ships lay waiting for an opening in the 
fixed ice, to enable them to resume their voyage. At 
length on the 5th, the appearance of the ice and the 
direction of the wind being favorable. Captain Os- 
born immediately gave orders to proceed across Wel- 
lington Channel toward Barlow Inlet. 

Before this course had been pursued for any dis- 
tance, the channel became blocked up with a vast 
field of floating ice. A northerly gale began to blow 
furiously over its surface ; and the ships of the squad- 
^'on were swept along with the ice, in whose embrace 
they were, out of the channel toward Leopold Island, 
The S'juadron drifted at the rate of a mile per hour, 

27 



i30 PROGRESS OF AKOTIO DISCOVERT. 

toward the south-east. Suddenly an opening in the 
pack occurred, and the steam-engine was instantly 
brought into requisition, to enable the seamen to ex- 
tricate themselves. Soon they reached again the 
open water ; and found themselves near the squadron 
01 Captain Penny, and the American vessels, com- 
manded by De Haven. These were then making 
sail under a full press of canvas for Cape Hotham. 

When in this position on the 11th of September, 
1850, the Arctic winter descended on the adventur- 
ers. The heavens became overclouded with black- 
ness, and the atmosphere filled with hail, snow, and 
sleet. A heavy sea began to roll, and the loose frag- 
ments of the rapidly congealing ice again to close 
around them. A snug harbor was happily discov- 
ered for the winter, between Capes Hotham and Mar- 
tvr, on the south side of Cornwallis Island. Here 
tne Pioneer and Intrepid were taken and secured. 
Several parties were sent out to carry provisions and 
establish depots on the intended routes of the differ- 
ent expeditions which would explore this region in 
the spring of 1851. Lieutenant M(?Clintock carried 
out a depot toward Melville Island, and Lieutenant 
Aldrich, taking another toward Lowther Island. 
Lieutenant Mecham was also sent to examine Corn- 
wallis Island, between Assistance Harbor and Cape 
Martyr, for traces of the progress of Sir John 
Franklin. 

Captain Osborn determined to embrace this op- 
portunity to connect the search from the spot where 
Lieutenant Mecham left the coast, to the point at 
which Lieutenant McClintock again took it up, thus 
completing the survey of this whole region, through 
which it was very naturally inferred that Sir John 
Franklin had passed. He started on the 10th of Oc- 
tober, provided with five day's provisions. The party 
consisted of six persons. The thermometei was six 
degrees above zero, and accordingly they did not 
suffer from the severity of the weather. After a 



LIEUTENANT OSBORn's EXPEDITION. 431 

march of three hours they came to Cape Martyr. 
Striking inward on Cornwallis Island, Captain Os- 
born came suddenly in view of a structure which at 
once excited the utmost interest, with the hope that 
it might be some unknown monument of the lost 
navigators. It was a round, conical-shaped building, 
twenty feet in circumference at the base. The apex 
had fallen in, but the height of what remained was 
five feet six inches. It was well built, and those who 
had reared it seemed to have well understood the 
strength of the arched roof, to resist the weight of the 
immense amount of snow which falls in those regions. 
Much skill was exhibited in the arrangement of the 
slates of limestone with which the building was con- 
structed. The stones of the apex which had fallen 
within the walls were quickly removed, but they dis- 
covered nothing which could eulighten them as to 
the origin of the structure. Yet it was evident from 
the thick moss which adhered to the walls, that it 
was not of recent origin, and that in fact it must 
have been built many years before the date of Sir 
John Franklin's voyage. The position of this mys- 
terious monument was lonely in the extreme. It 
seemed to be a solitary landmark in that polar world, 
of the former and transient abode of some unknown 
visitant ; and it bore clear evidence that it was not 
the product of the labor of the rude Esquimaux, who 
sometimes in their summer wanderings reached even 
these remote latitudes. Nothing more of interest 
was discovered on Cornwallis Island ; and Captain 
Osborn returned to liis ships. 

On the 17th of October the commander of the 
ships which composed this squadron, determined that 
as soon as they could commence operations in the en 
suing spring. Captain Penny was to continue the ex- 
ploration of Wellington Channel, while Captain Os- 
born was to continue his researches toward Melville 
Island, and from Cape Walker toward the south-west. 
With the settlement of this arrange ment, all the la- 



i32 PROGRESS OF AROTIO DISCOVERY. 

hors of the squadron for the year 1850 closed, as the 
Qtmost rigors of a polar winter were now upon them. 
The upper decks were then covered in. The stoves 
and warming apparatus were set to work. The boats 
were secured on the ice. All the lumber was re- 
moved from the upper decks. The masts and yards 
were made as snug as possible ; and rows of posts 
were placed between the ships, to designate the way 
amid the darkness and storms of winter. Holes were 
cut through the ice in order to obtain a ready supply 
of water in case of fire ; and arrangements were made 
to ensure the cleanliness of the ships and the crews. 
On the 8th of November several officers ascended the 
heights of Griffith's Island, and at noon caught the 
last glimpse of the sun, which they were destined 
to see, for some months ; though it was then IT miles 
below the horizon, and the rays which they beheld 
were those only of refraction. The precise position of 
the vessels was 74^° of north latitude. 

Though the sun had ceased to visit those Arctic 
heavens, it must not be supposed that the bold naviga- 
tors were in darkness. The southern horizon was il- 
lumed each day during several hours at noon, by 3^ 
deep and rosy red light, mixed with pink and blue. 
Toward the north the prevalent appearance of the 
heavens was a cold, bluish-black. During the rest of 
the twenty-four hours, a gray twilight prevailed around 
them, except when the moon was full. At that pe- 
riod a subdued splendor was cast over the frozen face 
of nature, which finds no parallel in the natural phe- 
nomena of other and more favored climes. The love- 
liness of an Arctic moonlight none can know, save 
those who themselves have seen it. 

Thus shut out from all the world, the adventurere 
endeavored to wear away the monotonous months of 
winter. The festivals of Christmas and New Yeai 
were observed with unusual glee and festivity, with 
such means as were within their reach. Sometimes 
the weather was too severe to permit any communi- 



LIEUTENANT OSBORn's EXPEDITION. 433 

cation between the vessels. During a portion of the 
time, the snow was drifted to such immense heights 
around the ships, that it exchided all view of the sur- 
rounding wastes. The vessels onlj three hundred 
yards distant from each other, were often invisible. 
Frequently as the furious storms of the north swept 
over the surrounding ice for many miles, the floor vi- 
brated and trembled with the violence of the shock, 
and communicated this singular motion to the vessels. 
The aurora borealis alone disappointed those who 
were connected with this expedition. It was deficient 
in brilliancy of color. It was also inferior in extent 
to what they anticipated. The series of concentric 
semi-circles of light were subdued by dark spaces 
between them, which diminished its luster and gen- 
eral splendor. The snow fell almost incessantly. 
When heavy gales blew the vessels were nearly 
smothered ; and vast drifts 15 feet thick above the 
decks, had to be removed by the continual labors of 
the seamen. 

Amid such scenes as these, the long winter slowly 
passed away. Early in March the crews began to 
stir. On the 11th of that month the thermometer 
was 41° below zero; and yet this temperature was 
not considered as too severe for active operations. 
On the 4th of April, 1851, preparations were made 
to travel on sledges, for the purpose of pursuing the 
inland searches. Captain Omraaney was directed to 
cross Barrow's Strait and Cape Walker. Lieutenant 
Aldrich was sent with two sledges and 14 men toward 
the unknown channel of Byam-Martin Island.- Lieu- 
tenant McCormick was dispatched to Melville Island, 
to prosecute his researches as far as Winter Harbor, 
with two sledges and 13 men. Other officers were 
sent in other directions ; making in all fifteen sledges, 
manned by 105 men, who were thus distributed in 
various directions, in order to obtain information and 
indications of the career and fate of the squadron of 
Sir John Franklin, 



4:34: PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

It was the 12tli of April when these expeditions 
gtarted forth from the ships. Our space forbids us 
to follow all their adventures, which were exciting and 
perilous in the extreme, over vast tracts of snow and 
ice, of the most monstrous and irregular shapes. 
The whole coast of Cape Walker's Land was sur- 
veyed. Many of the seamen became snow-blind, and 
many had frozen feet. They beheld vast tracts of 
snow-covered land hugged by the icy seas, over which 
a silence and solitude sullenly brooded, not unlike 
that of a primitive chaos. Most of the sledge parties 
accomplished journeys of 500 miles, in various direc- 
tions, during the fifty days the expedition lasted. Af- 
ter the lapse of this period, or nearly so, all the par- 
ties returned to the ships. Some had searched the 
whole western coast of Bathurst Island. Some had 
been to Winter Harbor, Bushman Cove, and Cape 
Dundas. Others had explored the whole eastern 
coast of Mellville Island. In eighty days the compa- 
ny under Lieutenant McClintock had traveled 800 
miles, dragging their sledges containing their provis- 
ions after them. He and his men had performed the 
greatest labor of any of their associates. Yet no- 
where, amid all these various researches, in every 
possible and available direction, had the least trace 
been detected of Sir John Franklin, no tradition of 
his presence, no monument or evidence of his fate ! 

On the 14th of August, 1851, the vessels steered 
for Jones' Sound, which they entered on the evening 
of the 15th. This sound was discovered to be the 
narrowest about the entrance. The scenery of the 
shores is magnificent. Ten miles inland a huge 
dome of pure white snow ascended to the height of 
4,000 feet, presenting one of the most singular spec- 
tacles which could well be imagined. Reaching 
Cape Hardwicke, which was discovered to be in fact 
a group of islands, they struck eastward toward Cape 
Clarence, which seemed to be the utmost limit of the 
land in that direction. Proceeding onward in theii* 



LIEUTENANT OSBOEN's EXPEDITION. 435 

southern route, the squadron soon came in sight of 
Carv Isles, and then of the flat-topped region between 
Cape York and Dudley Digges. The steamers then 
rapidly advanced on their homeward way. On the 
28th of August they reached Wolstenholme Island. 
Here they were stopped by the floating ice ; and an- 
choring fast to an iceberg, they awaited the first open- 
ing which might occur. Here began traces again of 
the nomade Esquimaux ; and thus they seemed to 
have returned to communion with the rest of man- 
kind. By the 1st of September the vessels still re- 
mained closely packed in the ice ; and nothing ap- 
peared to the view from the mast-head, except the 
boundless horizon of the frozen ocean. It was nev- 
ertheless necessary for Captain O shorn to make a 
bold push of some description, to be released from his 
confinement, for starvation itself might soon surprise 
his associates in their imprisonment. In a day or 
two a fortunate slackening of the ice encouraged 
them to attempt on entering. So difficult and slow 
was their progress, that they did not advance more 
than the ship's length during the period, and after 
the labors, of an hour. By dint of constant screwing 
and heaving, however, some advance was made. 
Gradually the sea became more open ; and then the 
powers of the steam-engine were brought into play. 
A moment's further delay might have secured their 
detention for the whole winter, in those inhospitable 
and frozen climes. After a day of excessive exer- 
tions, the ships had wormed their way through the 
floating ice to the open sea which lay to the south of 
it, and thus again were free. 

On the 5th of September the squadron commenced 
its unobstructed voyage of return to England. In 
eight days they reached the latitude of Cape Fareweh, 
and at length safely anchored at Grimby, in the 
River Humber, precisely three weeks after the com- 
mencement of their homeward bound voyage. The 
expedition had indeed failed either to rescue Sir John 



4:36 PI10GRE9S OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

Franklin, or even to soive Ihe great mystery of hia 
fate ; nevertheless it had made " assurance doubly 
sure" that he had not been lost in the regions which 
they had visited, but that he must have proceeded 
on his adventurous way to a very remote and une- 
qualed extreme of northern latitude. It ascertained 
that, if he had perished at all, he had perished in the 
execution of one of the boldest and most desperate 
resolutions ever entertained by man, to explore if 
possible, the utmost limits of the accessible earth ; 
and to arrive as near to the North Pole as it was pos- 
sible for human heroism, endurance, and determina- 
tion to approach. 

But other interesting and valuable researches were 
made by this expedition, which deserve notice. 
These established the fact that the Esquimaux tribes 
which now inhabit portions of the Arctic Zone, were 
once very numerous along the whole northern shore 
of Barrow's Straits and Lancaster Sound, and that for- 
merly the Esquimaux were among the most widely 
diffused races on the earth, so far as superficial ex- 
tent is concerned. Erom Melville Island on the west, 
to the isolated inhabitants of Northern Greenland, 
called Arctic Highlands, many strange and ancieut 
remains were discovered in various sheltered nooks 
and corners on the shore, such as rude houses, cach^^ 
hunting posts, and graves, which clearly proved that 
inhabitants once dwelt in this sad and solitary clime, 
who have now either become exterminated, or have 
emigrated to some more genial region. 

The origin of this people seems to have been in the 
north-eastern extremity of Asia ; for on the banks of 
the Lena and the Indigirka, and along the whole extent 
of the frozen Tundra^ which faces the Polar Seas, as 
well as in New Siberia, the same species of circular 
Btone huts, the same whalebone rafters, the same rude 
axes made of stones, and the same primitive imple- 
ments of the chase, are still found to exist, and are 
used alike by the Esquimaux of Hudson Straits and 



LiEUTENANT OSBORN^S EXPEDITION. 437 

Greenland, the Innnit of North America, and the 
Tchuktches of Behring's Straits. It is probable, there- 
fore, that these people first reached the American 
continent from the east of Asia. The Tchuktches are 
the only tribe of Siberia who have maintained their 
independence ; and have defied, assisted by the hor- 
rid rigors of nature, the overwhelming power of Rus- 
sia. The other tribes of Siberia narrate how one of 
the races called by them the Omoki, whose homes 
were as numerous on the banks of the Lena as 
the stars of an Arctic night, did formally remove 
to unknown regions ; supposed by them to be in 
a north-eastern direction. They also tell of an- 
other tribe, termed the Onkillon, who, having been 
attacked by the Tchuktches, took shelter in a dis- 
tant land to the northward from Cape Jakan. This 
land has now been found actually to exist in that 
direction. 

These people eventually reached the shores of Da- 
vis' Straits and the Atlantic Ocean ; and some of 
them even advanced as far as Lancaster Sound, along 
the Parry Group. Compelled by the necessities of 
food, and attracted by the products of fishing and 
hunting, they eventually reached Behring's Straits ; 
and thus this unfortunate race extended over a vast 
proportion of those inhospitable but habitable realms 
which lie nearest to the Pole. Among the proofs of 
this fact furnished by the researches of Captain Os- 
born's expedition, may be mentioned the following : 
Ruins of the description already mentioned, were 
found between Bathurst and Cornwallis Land, on the 
whole southern shore of Cornwallis Island, on Capes 
Spencer and Riley, on Radstock Bay, Ommaney 
Harbor, Cape Warrender, and on the shores of Jones' 
Sound. Formerly, also, many Esquimaux lived even 
at the head of Baffin's Bay. On the coast northward 
of Cape York, many deserted villages and dead 
bodies have been found ; clearly indicating the ex- 
istence of a people who have now either become ex- 



4:38 PEOGEESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

Unct, or have congregated in a less rigorous locality. 
All these tribes and races, whatever they may have 
been, undoubtedly belonged to the general Esquimaux 
family, who first originated in the north-eastern ex- 
tremity of Asia. 

Arctic Searching Expedition ; a Journal of a Boat- 

VOTAGE THROUGH RuPEEt's LaND AND THE ArCTIO 

Sea, in Search of Sir John Franklin, by Sir John 
Richardson, in 1851. 

The commander of this expedition was directed by 
the British admiralty to leave England in a mail- 
steamer for Halifax and 'New York ; and from the 
latter place to proceed to Montreal, in order to confer 
with Sir George Simpson, governor of the Hudson 
Bay company's settlements. He was ordered thence 
to travel by Lake Huron to Saut Ste. Marie and Lake 
Superior, and there embark with a small crew, and 
sail along the chain of lakes until he overtook Mr. 
Bell, whom it was supposed he would find at Isle a 
la Crosse. 

With four boats well adapted to this service, Sir 
John Richardson was ordered to proceed and exam- 
ine the extensive North American coast between the 
Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers. Passing the 
winter at Fort Good Hope, or Confidence, near Great 
Bear Lake, he was directed in the following spring to 
resume his journey, and explore the passages between 
Wollaston, Banks', and Victoria Lands, so as to cross 
the routes of Sir J. Q. Ross' detached parties ; and 
thence to return again to Great Bear Lake. It was 
hoped that this comparatively novel and untried di- 
rection of search, might probably reveal some satis- 
factory indications or memorials of the fate and situ- 
ation of Sir John Franklin. 

The length of this interior navigation to the Arctic 
Sea from Montreal, is about 4,400 miles. Sixteen 
hundred of these are performed on the Mackenzie 



SIR JOHN RIOHARDSON's EXPEDITION. 439 

Hiver and its tributaries. The boats employed in this 
expedition measured 30 feet in length, six in breadth, 
three in depth ; and were provided with masts, sails, 
oars, anchors, and tools ; and each weighed half a ton. 
A crew of five men was deemed sufficient for each. 
Among the seamen selected to man the boats, were 
sappers, miners, caipenters, blacksmiths, armorers, and 
engineers. These four boats properly provisioned, were 
embarked, together with the men ol the expedition, 
on board the "Piince of Wales " and "Westmin- 
ster," bound to York Factory, one of the posts of the 
Hudson Bay company ; and there both ships eventu- 
ally arrived, after a stormy passage, with the boats 
and their respective crews. In May, 1861, Sir John 
Richardson and his chief associate, Mr. Rae, left the 
house of Mr. Ballenden, at Saut Ste. Marie, near 
Lake Superior, and entered on the active duties of 
their expedition. 

We will omit some details of their travels, as long 
as these continue through those intermediate regions 
which are not directly connected with the Arctic 
Zone ; and which throw but little light upon the pe- 
culiarities of that remote portion of the earth. The 
expedition pursued its designated route, until at 
length they entered the estuary of the Mackenzie 
River. At four o'clock in the morning they embarked, 
and crossing a shallow bar at the end of a sand-bank, 
they steered between Richards' Island and the main 
land. They soon perceived about 200 Esquimaux 
coming toward them in their canoes, and three umiaks 
filled with women and children. It was necessary 
to beat off these intruders, who by hanging on to the 
sides of the boats impeded their progress ; nor were 
the voyagers certain that no hostile attack was in- 
tended by these half-starved and importunate semi- 
savages. 

As soon as these two parties in the several boats 
came in contact, a buisy scene of barter began to be 
enacted. The Esquimaux had arrows, bows, knives 



440 PKOGREBS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

of copper, or of bone, and articles of that description 
to sell ; and for these they received in return knives, 
files, hatchets, awls, and needles. The articles ob- 
tained by the explorers were indeed of little service 
to them ; but they wished to conciliate the Esqui- 
maux ; and inasmuch as the latter consider.ed a gift 
without an equivalent accepted in return as an insult, 
it was necessary to barter with them in order to fur- 
nish them the articles which they desired. The En- 
glish boats were much incommoded by the crowds of 
Esquimaux who were disposed to hold on to their 
sides, and it became necessary to use violence some- 
times to compel them to release their grasp. At 
length the boat commanded by Lieutenant Clark was 
attacked by the Esquimaux around it. An attempt 
was made to plunder it. A struggle ensued between 
the crew of six men and the assailants, and a musket 
was fired by Lieutenant Clark, as a signal to his as- 
sociates for assistance. The other boats then imme- 
diately wore around, and came to the protection of 
the assailed. Muskets were presented, and an attack 
threatened by the English sailors ; the efi'ect of which 
demonstration was, to induce the Esquimaux at once 
to desist from all further aggressive operations, and 
resume friendly relations. 

Thus, as the boats pursued their way, they were ac- 
companied by the Esquimaux canoes. At length as 
they began to lose sight of the land entirely, the Es- 
quimaux gradually fell behind them, and returned to 
their encampment on the shore of the estuary. Dur- 
ing this intercourse between the voyagers and the na- 
tives, the inquiries of the former were directed to ob- 
taining information in reference to the discovery 
ships. But the natives uniformly persisted in de- 
claring, that they knew nothing about any white peo- 
ple, or any ships on their coast. They all denied hav- 
ing been present in any interviews which took pAace 
between their countrymen and the navigators of those 
seas in previous years. One person alone, in answer 




The lody was hanled ujp." — Page 



SIE JOHN EICHAKDSON^B EXPEDITIOK. 441 

to the inqniries of Captain Richardson, declared that 
a party of white men were living on a neighboring 
island, called Richards' Island. But as the expedi- 
tion had visited and examined that locality but a day 
two previously, his assertion was known to be false. 
Captain Richardson requested his interpreter to in- 
form the Esquimaux that he had recently been there, 
and knew that he was lying ; which declaration only 
called forth a hearty laugh from the Esquimaux, 
whose only desire was, by a fabricated story, to in 
duce the expedition to sojourn longer in the neigh- 
borhood, and wast'e its time in fruitless researches. 

These Esquimaux are a singular race, and one of 
their distinctive peculiarities is, that they are strictly 
a littoral people. They live only on the shore, and 
they inhabit an area of nearly 5,000 miles of sea- 
board. Their habitations extend from the Straits of 
Belle-isle to the Peninsula of Alaska. Throughout this 
vast extent of region there is no material variation in 
their dialect, except what may be justly termed pro- 
vincialisms. An interpreter born on the east main or 
western shore of James' Bay, experienced no diffi- 
culty in understanding the language of the Esqui- 
maux of the estuary of the Mackenzie ; although the 
distance between the two localities was at least 2,500 
miles. Traces of the encampments of this same race 
have been discovered as far north on the American 
continent as the foot of the boldest adventurer has 
trodden. Their capacity to endure the privations of 
these frozen and rugged regions, results evidently 
from their disposition to subsist on blubber, and their 
long practiced ability to inhabit houses and huts con- 
structed of ice and snow. They employ drift-timber 
whenever it is accessible ; but they can do without it, 
and can find a good substitute in the fabrication of 
their weapons, sledges, and boat-frames, in the teeth 
and bones of whales, morses, and other sea-monsters. 
They associate together in large numbers, to engage 
in the pursuit of the whale ; and this fact indicates 



442 PROGRESS OF AROTlO DISCOVERY. 

the possession of no small degree of natural hardi- 
hood and intelligence. Those of the Esquimaux who 
have been received into the service of the Hudson 
Bay company, at the distant fur-posts, have very soon 
acquired the habits of their white associates, and 
proved eventually to be more industrious, intelligent, 
and trustworthy than domesticated Indians. Among 
themselves a great deal of honesty prevails ; and the 
private hunting-grounds of the different families are 
secure from all depredations from other members of 
the nation. But their dexterity and pertinacity in 
thieving the property of strangers* are very remarka- 
ble. They are brave in their, conflicts, and are devoid 
of the pusillanimity of the Indians of the southern 
zones. All their peculiarities, both personal and na- 
tional, serve to establish the position advanced in the 
preceding article of this work, that the various Es- 
quimaux tribes possess one and the same origin, and 
that they emanated originally from the north-eastern 
extremity of the continent of Asia. 

As soon as the Esquimaux canoes had disappeared 
from view, the boats were steered toward the opposite 
shore, at a spot where there were several winter hab- 
itations of the natives. This place is situated about 
eight miles to the eastward of Point Warren. The 
buildings are placed on a spot where the water is 
sufliciently deep for a boat to come close to the beach ; 
so that the natives may be able to tow a whale or 
seal to the place where they intend to cut it up. The 
houses themselves were constructed of drift-timber, 
strongly built together, and covered with a layer of 
earth from one to two feet in thickness. Light and 
air are admitted through a small low door at one ex- 
tremity ; and even this aperture in winter is closed 
bv a slab of ice. In that case their greasy lamps sup- 
ply them to some extent with heat, as well as with 
light. These huts are large enough to permit ten or 
twelve people to seat themselves around the fire, 
built in the center on the ground. In winter the im- 



Sm JOHN RICHARDSON B EXPEDITION. 44:3 

perfect admission of fresh air, and the effluvia ari- 
sing from their greasy and filthy bodies, render their 
abodes not only disagreeable in the extreme, but also 
exceedingly unwholesome. Yet these peculiarities 
characterize the whole Esquimaux tribes throughout 
the whole extent and variety of their diffusion. 

Having resumed their route on the 4:th of August, . 
Captain Richardson pulled for three hours across 
Copland Hutchinson Inlet, and landed at length on its 
eastern shore. This inlet is about 10 miles in width, 
and its mouth is obstructed by sand banks. Having 
computed their position, they found it to be 69° M' 
north latitude ; and the variation of the needle was 
58° east. This whole coast is low, though in the in- 
land, some sandy cliffs were discovered. The soil 
was soft, boggy, and treacherous, and the whole 
country was covered over with ponds and small lakes. 
On the 8th of August the expedition reached 
Cape Brown. Here they came in contact again with 
the Esquimaux. After the usual exchange of articles 
had been completed, inquiries were made in refer- 
ence to the missing ships. The Esquimaux declared 
that no large ships had ever visited that coast ; and 
that these were the only white men whom they had 
ever seen. It seems that Captain E-ichardson had 
visited this coast twenty- three years before on a com- 
mercial expedition^ and had then met some of these 
same people. But they denied having the least 
knowledge or recollection of him or of his associates. 
Captain Richardson crossed Russel Inlet, and 
passed Cape Brown. They then reached Cape Dal- 
housie aim pitched their tent upon the beach. This 
island and the cape are fiat ; but toward the sea there 
are steep cliffs 40 and 50 feet in height. There are also 
deep ravines in the interior, produced by the melting 
of the snows in the beginning of summer. From 
this point the boats steered across Liverpool Bay, 
and approached Nicholson Island. They then landed 
and encamped off Cape Maitland. The surface of 



444 JTEOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

this cape is level, but its shores are girt with rugged 
cliffs 80 feet in height. A frozen surface is con- 
stantly exposed to view, and permanent ground-ice is 
everywhere to be found, twenty inches beneath the 
surface of the soil. Vegetation is very meager and 
scanty. 

From this point the expedition proceeded to Har- 
rowby Bay, and Baillie's Islands. They landed at 
the latter place at evening, and pitched their tent to 
pass the night in repose. They soon discovered a 
large fleet ol Esquimaux canoes approaching in the 
form of a crescent, in the dim twilight. The object 
of the natives was to trade ; but ds Captain Richard- 
son wished his men to have an opportunity to repose 
during the night, he ordered a ball to be lired across 
the path of the canoes. This immediately stopped 
their further progress ; and an interpreter then in 
formed the Esquimaux that there would be no barter- 
ing that night, but that if they would return in the 
morning tneir wishes should be gratified. After a 
short consultation the Esquimaux seemed to be satis- 
fied with this arrangement and retired. At two 
o'clock the next morning the expedition resumed 
their journey, and soon met the approaching Esqui- 
maux. From them they ascertained that their sum- 
mer season here continues only during two months, 
of which this (August) was one ; that during this pe- 
riod they have no ice whatever ; and that they car- 
ried on their black- whale fishing. The extent of their 
operations usually consists in the capture of two 
whales during the whole summer — sometimes, though 
rarely, they obtain three. Sometimes they*are alto- 
gether unsuccessful and secure none. In that case the 
succeeding winter generally proves to be one of great 
want and hardship. Their ignorance of the rest of the 
world may be inferred from the following incident : 
One of them asserted to Captain Richardson that 
Cape Bathurst was an island. When the latter denied 
this assertion, the Esquimaux responded with great 



BIB JOHN RIOHAEDSOn's EXPEDITIOlS. 445 

sincerity, "Are not all lands islands?" At this 
point Captain Hichardson buried some pemmican 
and erected a signal-post. A hole was dug on 
the top of the cliff, in which a case of pemmican 
was deposited, with a memorandum explaining the 
purposes of the expedition. The utmost care was 
used in replacing the turf so as to avoid detection ; 
some drift timber was then placed on the spot and 
burned; and a pole painted red and white was planted 
at a distance of 10 feet. To induce the Esquimaux 
not to disturb the post, some articles of value were 
suspended upon it. Soon several Esquimaux were 
seen running toward the pole ; thej quickly stripped 
it of its hangings ; but did not disturb the signal 
itself. 

From this point the expedition proceeded to the 
south-east of tlape Bathurst, along the shore, which 
sometimes rose to the height of 250 feet. At Point 
Trail, in north latitude 70° 19', the bituminous shale 
had been ignited ' and burned ; and the bank had 
crumbled down from the destruction of the beds, pre- 
senting a most singular appearance. 

August the 11m the expedition continued their 
route along the coast, and at length reached Point 
Stivens, and on the 13th landed on the shores of Sell- 
wood Bay. Their next sojourn was on one of the 
western points which terminate Cape Parry. This 
portion of the cape presents a singular aspect when 
approaching it from the sea. It is an eminence 600 
feet in height, which far surmounts all the surround- 
ing region. In thop. neighborhood of this spot, at 
Cocked-Hat Point, a letter was deposited with a case 
of pemmican; over which were placed fragments of 
limestones, covered with red paint. It was here that 
the members of this expedition lirst saw the drift- 
ice. They sailed on past Clapperton Island, Point 
Pearce, and Point Keats. The hrst indications of the 
approach of winter now began to force themselves 
upon their notice : for the sea became covered with 
S 28 



tt46 PEOGBESS OF AKOTIC DISCOVERS. 

thin ice, which sometimes very essentially impeded 
their progress. At Cape Parry they still saw traces 
of the Esquimaux ; they had the nrst severe frost 
during the night ; and the ice already exceeded an 
inch in thickness. 

On the 12th of September the expedition nearly 
reached Cape Kendall. It had progressed thus far 
along the north-western coast of tne Sforth American 
contment, without meeting any traces of Sir John 
FrankKn. At this point the sea became so obstructed 
with ice that it was impossible to pursue the jour- 
ney along the sea-shore, although they were still at 
some considerable distance from the Coppermine 
River, the appointed boundary of their travels. Cap- 
tain Richardson, determined to continue the journey 
by land. The company provided themselves with 
thirteen day's provisions of pemmican, with cooking 
utensils, bedding, snow-shoes, astronomical instru- 
ments, fowling-pieces, ammunition, and portable boat, 
nets, and lines. Each man was compelled to carry a 
load of sixty -five pounds. The boats of the expedi- 
tion were left behind on the shore, and the tent with 
a few cooking articles and hatchets, were abandoned 
to the Esquimaux. 

On the 3d of September at six o'clock in the morn- 
ing, the journey commenced. They pursued a direct 
course toward the bottom of Back's Inlet. The snow 
was deep, and advance was laborious and difficult. 
So heavy was the way that most of the men were will- 
ing to leave behind them their carbines. At night 
they halted under a basalt cliS 200 feet in height. 
The sea was here full of ice. They still occasionally 
met Esquimaux, whose services they employed in fer- 
rying them over the numerous inlets which interrupt- 
ed their way along the coast. Among the Esquimaux 
whom Captain Richardson met, were two who are 
mentioned by Mr. Simpson. One of these was rec- 
ognized by a large wen which marked his forehead ; 
and the other by his being crippled, and using crutches 



sm JOHN kiohardson'b expedition. 4AI 

They had been very kindly treated by Messrs. Dease 
and Simpson ; and they were therefore disposed to 
be friendly, together with their whole tribe, toward 
the white people. The travelers bought skin-boots 
from them, wriich proved of very great service. 
Captain E-ichardson permitted none of his men to 
enter their huts, or to offer any indignity to these 
harmless and forlorn beings. He himself visited one 
of their cabins, both for the purpose of obtaining a 
glimpse of their household appearance, and to pre- 
sent some needles and other articles to their women. 
He found in one hut six or seven females sewing, 
seated in a circle. They were nearly naked, and very 
dirty. On his entrance they seemed both ashamed 
and afraid. Captain Richardson shrewdly conjec- 
tured that, as these people had heard of the approach 
of the strangers, they had purposely rendered them- 
selves as repulsive as possible, by rubbing mud and 
ashes on their faces and persons. They received his 
presents in a friendly manner ; but seemed quite re- 
lieved when the hardy old mariner took his leave. 
This is a singular circumstance, as illustrating how, iu 
every clime and country under heaven, men's pas- 
sions, their fears, and their artifices are uniformly 
and invariably tlie same ! 

At length the travelers arrived on the shores of 
Richardson's River. This river was discovered in 
1822, by some hunters of Sir John Franklin's party, 
and its outlet was then erroneously supposed to be 
only five miles west of the Coppermine. In 1839 
Mr. Simpson explored this river, and ascertained that 
it falls into Back's Inlet in north latitude 67° 53' 57". 
Having crossed this river in a small boat of Lieuten- 
ant Halkett, which could carry but two persons at 
once, they resumed their march. In a short time 
they gained the summit of the ridge which divided 
the valley of the Richardson from that of the Copper- 
mine River. This ridge was now covered with snow. 
From its summit they saw in the distance the Cop- 



4:48 PBOGBESS OF AEOTIO DIBOOVEEY. 

permine ; and at three o'clock in the afternoon they 
reached its banks, several miles above Bloody Fall. 

On the 10th of September the company struck the 
Kendal Hiver, at some distance from its junction 
with the Coppermine. They walked nearly three 
miles along its banks, seeking for a crossing place. 
No such spot being found, they were compelled to 
construct a raft, and thus transport themselves over. 
This raft could bear but three persons at a time ; nev- 
ertheless all of them passed over in safety. From 
this point they traveled directly across the country to- 
ward Dease River. Some snow fell both during the day, 
and also during the succeeding night. On the 12th 
they reached a tributary stream of the Kendal River, 
and forded it ; the ice-cold water rising up to their 
waists. On the 14:th the march took a south-western 
direction. They found the soil cracked, hummocky, 
and swampy ; and it became exceedingly wearisome 
and difficult for pedestrians. On the 15th they 
crossed a branch of the River Dease by fording it ; 
and at four o'clock in the afternoon the whole party 
reached Fort Conlidence, the present appointed ter- 
mination of their journey, and their quarters for the 
ensuing winter. 

It is proper that we should here interrupt the nar- 
rative of Captain Richardson's expedition in search 
of Sir John Franklin, by detailing some of the infor- 
mation which he obtained in reference to the Esqui- 
maux race — one of the most interesting and impor- 
tant items of Arctic observation and scrutiny. We 
have already given a few details on this subject on a 
previous page ; and the additional light thrown upon 
it by the researches of Captain Richardson, are both 
valuable and entertaining. The views presented by 
Captain R. of this widely diffused people, are, as will 
be seen, those which describe them as they exist on 
the northern coast of the American continent — being 
quite a different locality from that depicted by Cap- 
tain Osborn. 



SIR JOHN KIOHARDSOn's EXPEDITION. 449 

The term Esquimaux is probably derived from the 
words, Ceux qui miaux / or it may have originated 
from the shouts of Teymo which the natives uttered, 
when they surrounded the first exploring ships in their 
canoes. The sailors of the Hudson Bay company's 
vessels still call them Seymos. The word Esquimaux 
does not belong to the language of the nation. These 
invariably call themselves Tnu-it^ the people^ from 
I-nuhj a ma/ii. 

One peculiarity of this race is that they alone, of 
all the aboriginal races, are known to inhabit portions 
of both the old and the new continents. Their lan- 
guage and their customs, in consequence of the pe- 
culiarity of their position, have also remained strange- 
ly unaltered by any contact or collision with the rest 
of the world. They conline themselves to the shores ; 
and neither wander inland, nor cross extensive seas. 
They extend along the whole northern boundary of 
America, fi'om Behring's Straits to the Straits of Bell- - 
isle, and along both shores of Greenland and Lab- 
rador. Their appearance is singular. Their faces 
are egg-shaped, with considerable prominence in the 
cheek bones. Their foreheads are narrow and taper 
upwards. Their chins are conical but not acute. 
Generally their noses are broad and depressed. Their 
profiles, in consequence of the receding both of the 
forehead and the chin, present a more curved outline 
than is found in any other variety of the Caucasian 
race. Their complexions are not red, but of an inter- 
mediate hue between red and white. They have lit- 
tle or no beards ; but the hair of the head is long, 
straight, thick, and coarse. The men are of medium 
size, broad-shouldered, and muscular. In both sexes 
the hands and feet are small and well formed. The 
teeth, especially of the young girls, are generally of 
superior regularity and beauty. 

The chief subsistence of this extensive race depends 
upon hunting and fishing. In the spring the opening 
rivers give them the opportunity to spear and capture 



i50 PEOGBESS OF AEOTIO DISOOVEEY. 

the fish which at that period ascend the streams to 
spawn. Then also they hunt the reindeer, which 
bring forth their young on the coasts and islands be- 
fore the snow is entirely melted on the ground. 
They also take a large quantity of swans, geese, and 
ducks. The months of July and August are em- 
ployed in the capture of whales ; and when they are 
successful in this, their own sustenance for the ensu- 
ing year is secured. During the two summer months 
they live in tents made of skins, and then they provide 
their stores of food for winter use. At mid- winter they 
are usually in total darkness. At that period they 
live in houses framed of drift timber, which are 
thickly covered with earth. They have no windows 
in their dwellings, and they enter by a low trap door 
inserted either on the side, or in the roofs. The floor 
is covered with rude timber, and they have no fire- 
place. A large flat stone is placed in the center which 
supports a lamp, by the flame of which they often cook. 
The Esquimaux hunter can trap the seal, notwith- 
standing the great acuteness and vigilance of that an 
imal; and his plunder also serves to assist in sustain- 
ing Esquimaux life in tlie spring months. 

The summer architecture of this race is peculiar. 
By that period of the year, the snow has acquired a 
sufficient degree of coherence to form a light build- 
ing material ; and of this material the Esquimaux 
erect comfortable huts which are dome-shaped, and 
are often used in preference to their tents. They first 
trace a circle on the smooth surface of the snow. 
The sides are built of slabs of ice instead of brick or 
granite. The summit is composed of similar slabs ; 
and the floor is laid with the same material Each 
slab in the building is carefully fltted to its place, 
where it becomes congealed and frozen into the solid 
mass. All the crevices are plugged up, and the 
seams carefully closed, by throwing loose snow over 
the fabric. The walls are only three or four inches 
in thickness, and therefore nearly translucent; flct 



Sm JOHN RiOHAKDSON^S EXPEDITION. 451 

fchat they admit an agreeable light to the interior 
from without. All the furniture, consisting of seats, 
tables, and sleeping places, are formed of snow, and 
are covered with rein-deer or seal skins, which ren- 
der them quite comfortable. Often these houses 
are built contiguous to each other, with low galleries 
running between them. These houses are durable, 
and the sun rarely acquires sufficient strength in that 
clime either to thaw or to destroy them. 

The Esquimaux who live on the estuary of the 
Mackenzie river, carry on a traffic with the western 
Esquimaux from the region of Point Barrow and 
Behring's Straits, whom they meet half-way between 
their respective homes on the coast. The central 
Esquimaux have but little traffic with the Europeans, 
and articles of Russian manufacture are never or 
rarely seen further east than Point Atkinson. Those 
who live between Behring's Straits and the Mac- 
kenzie pierce the lower lip near the angle of the 
mouth, and fill the aperture with labrets resembling 
buttons, sometimes made of blue quartz, and some- 
times of ivory. Many of them transfix the septum 
of the nose with an ivory needle. The women are 
generally tattooed on the chin ; and turn up and plait 
their hair carefully, and are not devoid of pride in 
their personal appearance. From this circumstance 
northern navigators justly infer that more deference 
is paid to then! by the men, than usually prevails 
among semi-barbarous tribes. It is said by Captain 
Richardson, that the unmarried women among the 
Esquimaux are modest and decorous in their deport- 
ment; but that the married ones allow themselves 
very considerable liberties, and that, too, with the con- 
nivance of their husbands. Yet this reserve, even 
among the unmarried Esquimaux women, does not 
exist among the tribes located on the northern coast 
of Greenland. There both young and old indicated 
their vicious laxity to the navigators by signs and 
gestures of the most indelicate and unequivocal na 



152 I'ROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

tare, and more than once, wives have been known to 
be offered to the strangers by their husbands them- 
selves, plainly and witnont disguise, while the wo- 
man herself stood by, and freely acquiesced in her 
proposed prostitution. 

The Esquimaux like most barbarians are excellent 
mimics. They possess the power of imitating the 
gestures and voices of others with great ability. 
They also display extraordinary powers of grimace 
and contortion, and could exhibit themselves in the 
most singular positions and attitudes. The dress of 
both sexes is very nearly alike, and consists of a coat 
with a pointed skirt both before and behind ; pantaloons 
or leggings which extend to the waist ; and long 
boots made of seal skin, and w^ater tight, resembling 
moccasins. They have acquired considerable skill 
in the preparation of whale, seal, and deer skins. 
These they use for various purposes, some as thongs 
and lines in the capture of sea-beasts, some as har- 
ness for their dog-sledges, and some as soles for their 
moccasins, which are thus rendered water-proof. 
They have also invented a light water-proof outer 
dress, formed from the intestines of the whale, which 
they secure around the top of their small canoes, 
and which protects them from the waves of the sea. 
They acquire extraordinary skill in the management 
of their canoes or kaiyaks, and possess the hardihood 
of fearless seamen. Their dogs and reindeer consti- 
tute their chief wealth, and are in fact quite indispen- 
sable to their existence and comfort. 

The religion of the great Esquimaux race is a sin- 
gular subject of inquiry, and yet one whicli furnishes 
only the most unsatisfactory results. Their religious 
conceptions are simple and crude in the extreme. 
There is but little to know of them on this point ; and 
that little is not to their credit. The most prominent 
idea in their religion is the belief in witchcraft, and 
in the agency of evil spirits. They worship demons 
much more devoutly than they worship God. Cer 



gIB JOHN EIOHARDSON's EXPEDITION. 4:53 

tain individuals among them profess to possess a 
great influence over evil spirits. They believe that 
persons are killed by sorcery ; that they are and may 
become the messengers and servants of the devil ; 
that sorcerers may change the appearance of indi- 
viduals who are under their spell ; and accordingly, 
sorcerers are themselves a powerful class among 
them. 

Yet the Esquimaux have often become willing and 
docile converts to the christian faith, as taught them 
by the Moravian missionaries in Labrador and Green- 
land. They have readily acquired the art of reading 
and writing, and displayed no inconsiderable apti- 
tude for the acquisition of knowledge. The language 
of the Esquimaux is admitted by the most learned 
philologists to be similar in its structure to the rest 
of the North American tongues. There seems to be 
a singular inconsistency between the comprehensive- 
ness and artificial structure of the language, and its 
resemblance to that of neighboring Indian tribes, and 
the isolation of the people themselves. Their lan- 
guage does not materially vary along the whole im- 
mense extent of country over which their race is 
diffused ; thus furnishing another evidence of the 
identity and unity of this primitive and singular 
people. 

Yet the Esquimaux are divided into several tribes 
according to their different locations. Those on the 
southern portion of King William's Sound, are called 
the Tchugatschih y and they are located between 
Behring's Straits and Bristol Bay. Further to the 
north the Kuskatchevmk reside between the island 
Nuniwak and Cape Newenham. These are neither 
nomadic nor given to the chase ; but dwell in per- 
manent villages, and have a strong attachment to 
their ancestral homes. In each of these villages there 
is a public building termed the Kashira^ where coun- 
cils and festivals a^e held. It has raised platforms 
around the wall? with a place in the center for th« 



4:64: PEOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

fire, and an aperture in the roof for the escape of the 
smoke and the admission of light. 

The Tchnkche tribe who inhabit the shores of the 
Gulf of Anadyn, seem once to have had possession of 
the coast of Asia, as far westward as the one hundred 
and sixtieth parallel. They are divided in the Sed- 
entary, and the Eeindeer Tchukche. These are both 
strong and powerful races, and very much resemble 
in their appearance the North American Indians. 
The encroachments of the Russians and Cossacks 
have driven them back beyond the Kolyma, into the 
north-eastern corner of Asia ; but there they have re- 
mained free and unsubdued by their more powerful 
assailants. This tribe has domesticated both the dog 
and the reindeer, of which they possess numerous 
herds. They are skillful traders in furs and walrus' 
teeth, which they exchange for tobacco, articles of 
iron, hardware, and trinkets. They frequently travel 
on their sledges drawn by reindeer, accompanied by 
their women and children, their arms, tents, and 
household goods. Their yearly journeys continue for 
six months, for they make circuitous routes in pursuit 
of pasture and trade. Previous to the establishment 
of the Russian Fur company, these people yearly 
traveled for these purposes over an extent of seven- 
teen hundred miles of North American coast. 

Another tribe of the Esquimaux are called the 
Kutchins, who live westward between the Macken- 
zie and Behring's Sea. The males, possess the aver- 
age height of Europeans, are well formed, with reg- 
ular features, high foreheads, and light complexions. 
The women resemble the men ; and Captain Richard- 
son speaks of the wife of one of the chiefs as being 
so handsome, that in any country she would be con- 
sidered a fine looking woman. The women have 
their chins tattooed, and the men paint their faces 
both red and black. Their arms consist of a bow and 
arrow, a dagger, knife, and spear. Fire-arms have 
lately been introduced among them, and are very 



BIB JOHN Richardson's expedition. 455 

much prized. Where a man has not been able to ob- 
tain a gun, he always carries with him a supply of 
powder and shot, and for these he obtains a share of 
the game killed by the possessors of a gun or rifle. 
This singular expedient exists very extensively among 
the Esquimaux tribes. 

The chief men among the Kutchins practice polyg- 
amy, and have two or three wives, and some eveo 
five. Yery poor men who cannot support a wife re 
main single. But it is said that a good wrestlei, 
whether poor or rich, can always obtain a wife. In 
winter the women perform all the drudgery about 
the house. They collect the firewood, assist the dogs 
in hauling the sledges, and bring snow to melt for 
water. They do everything, in fact, except cooking, 
and that is attended to by the men alone. The wo- 
men carry their infants, like the rest of the Esqui- 
maux, on their backs in seats made from birch bark, 
with the sides and back resembling those of an arm- 
chair. They even bandage the feet of their children 
to prevent them from growing, inasmuch as small 
feet are considered handsome. This custom resem- 
bles that of the Chinese, except that it is not confined 
to the females. The Kutchins are a lively and cheer- 
ful people. Dancing and singing are their chief 
amusements ; wrestling and all kinds of athletic di- 
versions are in fashion among them. Their religion 
also consists chiefly in the belief in sorcery and evil 
spirits, whom they endeavor to propitiate through 
their shamans, who profess to be able to communicate 
with the unseen world, and to possess the power of 
prophesying future events. When any one of their 
tribe dies suddenly, or unexpectedly, the event is al- 
ways attributed to sorcery ; and some evil spell is 
charged against either a member of their own tribe or 
of some neigboring one. Then blood-money is imme- 
diately demanded, and if it be refused, they do not 
rest until an opportunity is found to avenge the sup- 
posed murder by s >me retributive deed of violence 



4:56 PROGRESS OF AROtiO DiSCJOVERr. 

and death. An instance is narrated in which blood 
money was demanded and received for several years, 
for the supposed death of a relative who was after- 
ward discovered to be still alive. When demand was 
again made the ensuing year for the usual payment, 
three of the party making it were slain in expiation 
of their falsehood and extortion. 

These Kntchins are treacherous and warlike ; and 
generally engaged in hostilities with the surrounding 
tribes. One half of the population of the Yukon 
has thus been destroyed during the last twenty-five 
years. They pass the summer months chiefly in dry- 
ing the white-fish for winter use. Their wealth con- 
sists partly in beads ; and to become a chief among 
the Kutchins, a man must have beads equal in value 
to the amount of two hundred beavers. In summer 
when they are traveling they rarely erect their tents. 
In winter their encampments are usually placed in 
groves of fir trees, where they either live in huts or 
m their winter tents constructed of skins with the hair 
unremoved. 

The process of courtship among these people is 
very simple indeed. The lover goes early in the 
morning to the abode of the object of his passion, 
and without saying anything, begins to bring in wa- 
ter ; to heat the stones which are used to create steam 
for their bath; and to prepare food. The inmates 
then ask him who he is, and why he does this. He 
states that he wishes to obtain the daughter of the 
man who dwells there as his wife. If he is not re- 
fused, he remains as a servant in the family for a 
year, and at the termination of that probationary pe- 
riod he receives both a reward for his services and his 
bride into the bargain. No ceremony of marriage 
takes place between them. When a man dies, he is 
mourned by his whole clan. Slavery exists among 
them to some extent ; and those who are in bondage, 
are prisoners taken captive in war, who are often sold 
and re-sold by different owners, unless they are re 



sm JOHN bichaebson's expedition. 457 

deemed by their own relatives. These slaves have 
been known to be sometimes sacrificed as victims to 
the shades of their departed warriors and heroes. 
They also possess the art of manufacturing various 
articles of iron ware ; an accomplishment which they 
probably derived at an early period, from their inter- 
course with Russian traders. 

The winter having at length passed away, the trav- 
elers who composed Sir John Kichardson's company 
at Fort Confidence, prepared in the ensuing spring to 
resume their operations. It yet remained their duty to 
reach "Wollaston and Victoria Lands, and thus to com- 
plete the search in that direction. In consequence of 
the forced desertion and loss of the boats of the expe- 
dition as previously narrated, it would have beem im- 
practicable for the whole party to accompany those 
who performed this journey ; nor was this in fact 
necessary ; and Mr. Rae, the younger and more ro- 
bust associate of Captain Richardson, was selected to 
perform the service which yet remained. The ability 
and zeal of this gentleman well fitted him for the 
task. He had already explored the country between 
Fort Confidence and the Coppermine River during 
the winter months, for the purpose of ascertaining 
the best route to be followed in the spring. 

Accordingly, in April Mr. Rae, taking charge of 
the only boat which the expedition still possessed, 
conveyed provisions, boat-stores, and various other 
necessaries on dog-sledges, across toward the Kendall 
River, and posted two men at Flett's Station, together * 
with two Indians, to protect them. Six men composed 
the crew of the boat under the command of Mr. Rae. 
Two men were left in charge of Fort Confidence. 

Mr. Rae having waited for the breaking up of the 
ice on the Dease River, hauled kis boat thither, on 
which he embarked on the 8th of June. His ascent 
of the stream was slow, in consequence of the large 
masses of ice, some of them miles in length, which 
impeded his progress. They ascended the south-east- 



466 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

ern branch of that stream. On the 17th they passed 
over the lake from which the river flows, on the ice. 
It contains some islands and is four miles in width. 
From this lake they traveled overland for six miles 
nearly due east, and on the 21 st they reached the Ken- 
dall River, to which the provisions had been previ- 
ously conveyed in April. They then descended the 
Kendall to the Coppermine River. 

At this place they were detained by the ice, which 
was still unbroken, during five days. They then sailed 
down the Coppermine to the sea ; and found a nar- 
row channel along the shore of Richardson Bay, 
where the ice still lay against the rocks. They pro- 
ceeded on and ronnded Point Mackenzie, and entered 
Back's Inlet, which was then but partially opened. 
They soon reached the head of the inlet, and at once 
sailed np Rae River, which Captain Richardson had 
discovered the preceding autumn. 

For the purpose of examining the country, Mr. Rae 
followed the river for twenty geographical miles in- 
land. It is very straight in its direction, and flows 
over a bed of limestone. Its banks are extremely 
rugged, and sometimes presented precipices 200 feet 
in height. The party then returned to the mouth of 
the river. Their position now was 67° 55' 20" north 
latitude. They reached Cape Kendall, where they 
experienced a heavy thunder-storm, which compelled 
them to land. On the 27th they continued their 
course to Cape Hearne. Basil Hall Bay they found 
filled with unbroken ice from one side to the other. 
The next day a crack occurred in the ice large enough 
to permit the boat to reach an island in the middle 
of the bay. On the north side of this island they 
found some open water which enabled tliera to ad- 
vance two miles further. On the 30th they reached 
Cape Krusenstern. 

This was the most suitable spot from which to de- 
sert the shore, and commence the traverse or direct 
»'oute to Wollaston Land, passing near to Douglass 



SIB JOHN Richardson's expedition. 460 

Island. This circumstance was more fortunate, aa 
the coi iition of the ice along the shore rendered 
their further advance in that direction impossible. 
The party disembarked here and pitched their tents 
on liie top of the cliffs, and waited for a more favor- 
able state of the ice ; which had already commenced 
to break up. Here they were visited by some Esqui- 
maux, who informed them that they had seen several 
natives of WoUaston Land during the preceding win- 
ter, and had been informed by them that no European 
ships, boats, or seamen had ever visited their coun- 
try. The situation of the party here was ascertained 
to be 68° 24:' 35" north latitude. 

The ice in the bay was not sufficiently cleared to 
permit Mr. Rae to proceed until the 19th of August. 
Until this period there had been a closely packed 
stream of ice stretching along the entire shore, and 
grinding against the rocks as it was driven upon 
them by the wind. Having pulled seven miles from 
land and being yet three miles distant from Douglass 
Island, they were met by a stream of ice so closely 
packed and so rough, that it was impossible either 
to pass over it or through it. This compelled the 
company to return to their former position on the 
shore. During several succeeding days they poled 
their way along the beach, and thus advanced a few 
miles to the southward. On the evening of the 22d 
Mr. Rae ascended a hill near the shore, and there be- 
held with a spy-glass nothing in the direction of Wol- 
laston Land but the white ice forced upward by the 
wind into irregular heaps ; while to the east and 
south-east there was a large space of open water, be- 
tween which and the ice-bound shore, a vast stream 
of ice some miles in length was driving rapidly toward 
Cape Hearne. 

There was now no prospect that the sea would open 
80 as to permit the frail craft in which Mr. Rae and 
his men were embarked to venture across the main 
to WoUaston Land. Winter was then very near; 



4:60 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

and Mr. Kae was reluctantly compelled to give the 
order to return to the Coppermine River. In ascend- 
ing this river to the Bloody Fall, the company met the 
misfortune of losing Albert, their Esquimaux inter- 
preter, and one of the most useful members of the 
expedition. He was drowned in attempting to extri- 
cate the boat from a dangerous eddy into which it 
had been drawn. The boat was lost with him. They 
then commenced their journey on foot across the land 
toward Great Bear Lake, each man carrying a weight 
of about eighty pounds. After seven days' march 
from the Bloody Fall the party reached Fort Confi- 
dence, whence the expedition had started. They had 
failed to discover any traces of Sir John Franklin, 
and had not even reached WoUaston Land, the pro- 
posed terminus of their journey, in consequence of 
the strait being filled with impassable ice. 

Meanwhile Captain E-ichardson and the rest of the 
men belonging to the expedition, explored Bear Lake 
and Cape McDonald. They then reached Fort Frank- 
lin. The only vestige of the latter which remained, 
was the foundation of the chimney-stack. Thenoe 
they proceeded to Fort Norman. They then em- 
barked on Bear Lake River and descended with the 
current to its mouth. Retracing the route which 
they had pursued in their outward journey during 
the preceding year, the company eventually reached 
Methy Lake; where Captain Richardson received 
his first letters from England, which had been brought 
up from Canada by the governor's canoe, which annu- 
ally leaves La Chine in May. He arrived at Korway 
House on the 13th of August, and there the men 
composing the expedition were discharged. The Eu- 
ropeans among them were sent down to York factory 
to sail to England in one of the ships of the Hudson 
Bay company. 

Captain Richardson himself returned by way of 
Boston to Liverpool ; and thus ended this additional 
vittempt to discover S r John Franklin's fate, without 



CAPTAIN Kennedy's voyage. 461 

having obtained the slightest clue of them ; although 
the plan of search pursued possessed some novel and 
very considerable advantages in its favor. 

The Second Yoyage of the Pkince Albert in Seaboh 
OF Sir J ohn Franklin, under the command of Wil- 
liam Kennedy, in 1853. 

Teos expedition was fitted out for the second time 
by -the liberality of Lady Franklin. The vessel was 
small, but had proved herself, on a former voyage 
to the Polar seas, well adapted to the service.* That 
voyage resulted in discovering traces of the the miss- 
ing ships at the entrance of Wellington Channel ; 
and on its return Lady Franklin instantly resolved to 
equip the present undertaking, with hopes of more 
complete success ; and Captain Kennedy was invited 
by her to take the command. 

In May, 1851, the Prince Albert lay in the harbor 
of Aberdeen ready for sea. Along the sides from 
the keel to about two feet above the water-line, there 
had been placed a doubling of planking two and a 
half inches thick. The bows and stern-posts were 
sheathed in wrought iron, a quarter of an inch in 
thickness. Her hold had been strengthened with a 
perfect labyrinth of cross-beams, for the purpose of 
better enabling her to endure the immense pressure 
of the ice. The object of this second expedition of 
the Prince Albert, was to continue the search by way 
ot Prince Regent^s Inl&t^ an important portion of the 
Polar region, which neither Captain Penny nor Cap- 
tain Austin had explored, nor any other Arctic voy- 
ager previous to that period. 

The crew of the Prince Albert consisted of the 
commanding officer and seventeen men. She was 
furnished with two large and valuable boats, one of 
gutta-percha, and the other of mahogany ; together 

* Sec page S48 of this volume for the details of this voyage^ 

29 



i62 PROGRESS OF AECJTIO DISCOVERT. 

with several smaller ones. The vessel was provi- 
sioned for two years. On the 22d of May she left 
Aberdeen Harbor. Lady Franklin was then on board, 
and as she left the ship after expressing all her wishes 
and hopes for the success of the gallant crew, was 
loudly and enthusiastically cheered, as she deserved 
to be, as she descended the vessel's side to return to 
the shore. On the 23d of June they made Hoy 
Sound, and soon reached Cape Farewell. Captain 
Kennedy had been instructed to examine Prince Re- 
gent's Inlet, and the passages connecting it with the 
Western Sea, south-west of Cape Walker. To the 
latter point, strong probabilities in favor of finding 
traces of Sir John Franklin concentrated ; inasmuch 
as it was supposed to be likely that he abandoned his 
vessels to the south-west of Cape Walker ; from the 
fact that he himself entertained the opinion that an 
open passage was to be found from the westward into 
the south part of Regent's Inlet ; and because this re- 
gion of country was known to possess considerable 
animal life, and he would have the stores placed at 
Fury Beach soon within his reach. It was also 
thought that he would have pursued this route, inas- 
much as he more probably expected assistance to be 
sent him by way of Lancaster Sound and Barrow 
Straits, into which Regent's Inlet opened, than by any 
other direction. 

By the 1st of July Captain Kennedy was in full 
view of the shores of Greenland. They then pre- 
sented a spectacle of more than ordinary interest and 
sublimity. As far as the eye could reach, they seemed 
a sterile and iron-bound coast, diversified here and 
there with huge cliffs of rock and ice, ascending 
sternly into the wintry heavens a thousand feet in 
height. Often gloomy caverns were seen in the ice 
which were portals for the discharge of some half- 
frozen stream into the ocean, filled with small ice- 
bergs which were but rolling and tossing in the flood, 
The vessel soon passed Capes Pesolation and Com- 



CAPTAIN KENNEDY S VOYAGE. 46? 

fort ; and by the 8th of July they were three-fourths 
of their way up BaflSii's Bay, and nearly opposite to 
the Danish village of Upernavick. At this village 
they took on board six powerful Esquimaux dogs, and 
sealskin boats adapted to the Arctic regions. 

On the 13th, the Prince Albert fell in with the 
American squadron which had just escaped from their 
extraordinary drift of eight months in the heart of 
the pack, through Lancaster Sound and Baffin's Bay. 
Finding Melville Bay completely closed by the ice, 
Captain Kennedy determined to attempt a passage 
■further south. After four days of difficult and peril- 
ous navigation, they succeeded in effecting an advance 
of 120 miles through the packed ice, and reached 
West Water on the 21st of August. This was a very 
perilous exploit, and is one which has proved the dfe- 
struction of many a bold adventurer in those seas. 
The small dimensions of the Prince Albert seem to 
have given her great advantages over her more bulky 
associates. On the 26th of August they were off 
Pond's Bay, and were here for the last time visited 
by a small company of Esquimaux. The extreme 
rarity of the atmosphere in these northern climes, 
was proved by the fact, that the voices of the Esqui- 
maux could be clearly heard as they approached the 
vessel, at the distance of eight miles. 

From Pond's Bay Captain Kennedy steered through 
Lancaster Sound. On the 3d of September he 
reached Barrow Straits. At this point he attempted 
to reach Cape Kiley, in hope of there finding traces 
of Sir John Franklin ; but after bearing up repeated- 
ly for the North Land through heavy fogs, snow, and 
gales, was compelled to abandon the purpose. On 
the 4th of September Captain Kennedy arrived at the 
mouth of Prince Regent's Inlet, one of the special 
objects of his search. He there found an unbroken 
barrier of ice extending as far down the west side of 
Prince Regent's Inlet as the eye could see, piled up 
in dense masses on the shore, The eastern side an3 



4:64: PEOGRESS OF AKOTIO DISCOVBAT. | 

middle of the inlet were comparatively open. This ' 
state of the ice forbade further progress in the in- 
tended direction. They attempted to run into Leo- 
pold Harbor, but found that also impossible. Thence 
they ran down to El win Bay to Batty Bay, and to 
Fury Beach, finding them all closed. They were 1 
very nearly involved in the position which had proved j 
the destruction of the Fury — in a narrow lane be- ' 
tween the shore and an extensive field of moving ice. 
Being thus excluded entirely from the western shore 
of the inlet, they were compelled to sail to the oppo- 
site. After making a circuit of some forty hours 
along a high and dead wall of ice, they reached Port , 
Bowen on the 5th. Landing here, Captain Kennedy 
found a few traces of Sir E. Parry's party. These 
were several cairns, a fire-place of stones, pieces of 
canvas, nails, and broken pipes. There was here, ^ 
also, a single grave, the lonely resting-place of one i 
John Oottrell, a seaman of the Fury, who was buried 
in July, 1825, aged thirty-nine. 

It was still regarded as of the utmost importance to 
reach Port Leopold, and there effect a landing. On \ 
the 9th having crossed the inlet, and brought the ship ! 
to within several miles of Gape Seppings, the southern 
point of Port Leopold, Captain Kennedy determined i 
to land with the gutta-percha boat, and four seamen, j 
for the purpose of making explorations. He found a 
narrow lane of water which brought them quickly to 
the shore. On ascending the clifls on Cape Seppings, | 
the appearance of the ice was such as to induce Cap- ] 
tain Kennedy to conclude that very soon the Kegent's 
Inlet would become clear and navigable. After an 
hour spent on shore, he prepared to return to the i 
ship, but found his progress entirely cut off by the | 
ice, which, during his delay, had entirely changed ; 
its position. Night soon came on. The ocean was 
covered with huge masses of ice; grinding, tossing 
and rearing furiously on every side. To attempt to 
^;each the ship then, was directly to court destruction 



CAPTAIN Kennedy's yotaoe. 4:61 



They were compelled to draw up their boat on the 
beach, and turning her over, to prepare to pass the 
night under her. So intense was the cold that Cap- 
tain Kennedy was compelled to prevent the men 
from sleeping during the whole night, knowing that 
that alone would prevent them from freezing to death. 
When the next morning dawned, and they looked out 
on the troubled sea, they found that every vestige of 
the Prince Albert had vanished. 

This position of the captain and his men, was both 
unpleasant and dangerous. He determined first to 
fall back to Whaler Point, where Sir James Koss had 
deposited a store of provisions. They found the 
house erected by Sir James, still standing, and the 
provisions in good order, consisting of pemmican, 
chocolate and biscuit. 

It was now the 10th of September and winter was 
upon them. The only remedy for the lonely exiles, 
was to make the best preparations possible to pass the 
winter at Whaler Point, hoping in the ensuing spring 
to obtain a rescue. It was a sad and sudden termi- 
nation to the voyage, and they submitted to it most 
reluctantly. They went to work and transformed 
the launch left there by Sir James Ross into a shelter, 
by laying her main-mast on supports at the bow and 
stern, and spreading over them two sails. This pro- 
cured them a shelter. A stove was set up in the 
center of the boat with the pipe running through the 
roof. This warmed them. They obtained blankets 
and clothes from the depot left by Sir James; and 
this rendered their condition more tolerable. Thus 
their dreary residence in those Polar regions began, 
with the prospect of a long and increasingly rigorous 
winter before them. What the final issue might be, 
they could not predict. Time alone could solve that 
mystery. The only signs of life which appeared 
around them, were a few Polar bears and foxes. 

Happily an unexpected termination was put to 
their danger and suspense on the 17th of September, 



4:66 PROGRESS OF AROTIO DISCOVERY. 

by the sudden appearance of a party of seven men 
under Mr. Bellot, who had left the Prince Albert in 
search of the absentees, and had dragged the jolly- 
boat all the way from Batty Bay. It was the third 
attempt which had been made to discover and rescue 
them, by the crew on board the ship^ The joy of 
Captain Kennedy and his men at this sudden deliv- 
erance may readily be imagined. Tliey were thus 
snatched most probably from the jaws of a frozen and 
mysterious grave which would soon have closed over 
them. 

Five weeks had elapsed during their involuntary 
absence from the ship, and they seemed to possess 
the magnitude of years to the despairing wanderers. 
So far distant were they from the vessel, that it re- 
quired a journey of several days to conduct them 
thither. The company then prepared to pass the win- 
ter in their present situation. The deck was cleared 
of lumber and covered with a housing. They then 
built out-houses of snow for various purposes, for 
wash houses, for a carpenter shop, and for forges. 
All the powder on board was taken on shore and 
buried in the snow, The winter was to be passed in 
making extensive land journeys in all directions, in 
search of Sir John Franklin. They prepared a quan- 
tity of snow-shoes and winter clothing. As soon as 
the ice in Prince Regent's Inlet permitted them to 
travel from the ships with safety, they commenced 
their explorations. 

The first object of inquiry was to ascertain whether 
Fury Beach had been a point of refuge to any of Sir 
John Franklin's company, since it was visited by 
Lieutenant Robinson in 1849. It was also desirable 
to form a depot of provisions there, to aid in future 
researches which might be made in the same direc- 
tion. They followed the base of the lofty clifis which 
extend in an almost continuous line from Batty Bay 
to Fury Beach. The company consisted of five per- 
sons including Captain Kennedy. They dragged a 



CAPTAIN KEimEDY's VOIAGE. 467 

sleigh with them, which was no easy task, as the 
ground was covered the entire way with boulders 
and large fragments of ice, which had been stranded 
on the beach by many successive tempests. Theie 
were also immense sloping embankments of drifted 
snow, which lay high up against the face of the cliffs. 
Their entire journey was performed by moonlight, 
the sun having entirely bidden them farewell before 
their departure from the ship. 

Sir John Eoss had erected in 1832 at Fury Beach, 
a building which he had named Somerset House. 
Many hopes centered around this spot, because it was 
reasonably supposed that if any of Franklin's party 
had been imprisoned in the Arctic seas, and had ever 
come near to Fury Beach, they would have repaired 
to this well known spot, both for shelter and provis- 
'ons. As soon as Captain Kennedy reached this 
house on January 8th, he discovered that all his hopes 
had been illusions. A death-like solitude pervaded 
the moon-lit and frozen gloom around them. The 
eye rested on a surrounding waste, relieved b}^ no 
sign of recent life, cheered by no evidence of the for- 
mer presence of those whom they sought. The stores 
whicn had there been placed were still in perfect 
preservation. The house itself had become much di- 
lapidated by the severity of the climate, and by the 
rude salutes of those Arctic storms. The roof was 
much broken. The inder-statf had been thrown 
down by the winds, and had been gnawed by the 
tamished foxes. • One end of the building was filled 
with snow. They lighted a fire in the stove which 
Sir John Ross had. once used, and prepared their sup- 
per. After spending a few hours in the careful ex- 
amination of that dreary spot, rendered still more mel- 
ancholy by the lunar gloom and the disappointment 
of all their hopes, Captain Kennedy ancl his men 
returned after a journey of several days to the ship. 
No traces of the lost navigators had been seen during 
this visit to Fury Beach. The state of the weather 



4:68 PROGRESS OF AJRCTIO DISCOVERY. 

during the ensuing month, compelled Captain Ken- 
nedy to remain in his vessel. There they were nearly 
overwhelmed by avalanches of snow. There seemed 
to be but one gale during the winter around the ship ; 
but that gale blew when she came, and continued till 
she departed. It was dangerous to venture forth even 
for a short distance ; inasmuch as the snow-drifts and 
the darkness combined, soon involved the traveler in 
a whirling deluge which rendered it impossible to see 
six paces off. 

A small party were actually lost for a short time, 
when endeavoring to convey some provisions a short 
distance from the ship to form a depot. After pro- 
ceeding a few hours, a furious hurricane arose, which 
drifted the snow in fearful masses around them. In 
attempting to cross a bay on their return, they lost 
sight of the land by which their course was to be 
guided. Neither sun, moon, or stars illumined the 
heavens. They knew not which way to turn. They 
tried the expedient of setting the dogs loose whicn 
drew the sledge. They all started off at a rapid pace, 
and afterward reached the ship ; but their gait was 
too rapid for the men, whom they soon left behind to 
their fate. They still went on however, sometimes 
walking, sometimes crawling, sometimes climbing 
over the immense blocks and masses of ice and snow 
drifts. At length they reached the powder magazine, 
and after some further difficulty, they found the ship. 
Their escape was accidental ; for the men had be- 
come so benumbed with cold, as to be able no longer 
to clear their eyelids of the accumulation of snow 
which had rested on them, and were thus nearly blind. 

Thus February wore away, and Captain Kennedy 
began to prepare for the execution of the chief land 
journey which had been contemplated by the expe- 
dition. The end of this journey was Cape Walker; 
for it was supposed that if Sir John Franklin had 
taken his departure for the unknown regions to the 



CAPTAIN KlifiNT^EDY's VOYAGB:. 460 

v^est and south-west, he would have started from this 
point, and not from Wellington Channef. 

Five men accompanied Captain Kennedy on this 
excursion. As far as Fury Beach they were accom- 
panied by seven persons as a fatigue party. Their 
f provisions, clothing, and bedding were drawn on two 
ndian sleighs .by nve dogs. They started on the 25th 
of February, and were accompanied by the whole 
crew as far as Batty Bay. On the 5th of March 
Captain Kennedy reached Fury Beach. Here they 
remained several days, and found the old stores de- 
posited here by Sir John Ross, not only in a state of 
good preservation, but also much superior in quality 
to those which thev brought with them. These pro- 
visions consisted oi preserved meats, vegetables, and 
soups, and after thirty years' exposure to the intense 
climate of the Arctic zone, they were found to be still 
perfect ! The flour had all become caked in solid 
lumps, and had to be reground and passed through a 
seive before it could be used ; but then it furnished 
most excellent biscuit. 

On the 29th of March Captain Kennedy resumed 
his march from Fury Beach. He had four flat-bot- 
tomed Indian sleighs, drawn by the dogs and men. 
Thev proceeded toward Cape Garry over a long route 
of noes and low-lying points. They uniformly com- 
menced their journey immediately after breakfast, 
and continued till evening, when a snow hut was 
greeted, and preparations made to pass the night in 
it. Their labors were rarely over and repose begun, 
before ten o'clock at night. 

On the 1st of April they reached Creswell Bay, 
and in the evening came to Cape Garry. They 
thence proceeded onward to Brentford Bay, where 
they found a dozen Esquimaux huts, deserted by their 
inhabitants. Here the party divided for the purpose 
of exploring several channels of open water which 
extended toward the interior. Captain Kennedy 
traveled twenty miles along one of these channels. 



4:70 PEOGRESS OF ARCTli. DISCOVERY. 

From a hill on which he here encamped he saw a 
broad channel running north-east, which he at first 
supposed to be a continuation of Brentford Bay. Its 
great extent liowever, convinced him that it was a 
western sea, and that the narrow passage through 
which he had just traveled was a strait leading out 
of Prince Regent's Inlet. This being apparently a 
new discovery, Captain Kennedy called it Bellot 
Strait, after the second officer of tlie expedition. This 
water was afterward discovered to be the northern 
extremity of Victoria Strait, which Dr. Rae had ex- 
plored from another direction. 

At this point Captain Kennedy determined to pro- 
ceed in a westward direction, in order to ascertain 
whether any channel existed there through which 
Sir John Franklin might have penetrated from Cape 
"Walker. 

On the 8th of April he started in pursuance of 
this pr.rpose. Their progress was slow in consequence 
of the roughness of the ice. The men became much 
afflicted with snow-blindness, and were much dis- 
tressed by the sharp particles of snow drift which 
were dashed by the furious wind into their eyes. The 
wide region around them was perfectly level, and 
Captain Kennedy named it Arrow Snath's Plains. 
Sometimes the severity of the weather, compelled 
them to remain for several days in their snow-hut. 
They traveled on for thirteen days without meeting 
any indications of the ap2:)roaching sea. This con- 
vinced Captain Kennedy that there was no passage 
by water to the south-west of Cape Walker; and that 
due north was now the most desirable course to be 
pursued. 

Following this purpose he traveled in that direc- 
tion for twenty miles over a level plain. On the 24:th 
of April they arrived at the bottom of a deep inlet, 
which has since been ascertained to be the Omma- 
ney Bay of Captain Austin's expedition. From this 
point they steered eastward, in order to strike the 



CAPTAIN Kennedy's voyage. 471 

ckannel supposed to be to the eastward of Cape 
Bunny, and by.following it to reach Cape Walker. 

After three days they came to Browne's Bay. At 
length on the 4th of May, they approached the bold 
headland of Cape Walker, for the attainment of which 
they had endured so much. Here they confidently 
hoped to find some traces of Sir John Franklin, had 
he followed the suggestions contained in his original 
instructions. Captain Kennedy accordingly searched 
every spot within three miles on both sides of the 
cape. They followed the windings of the rough ice 
outside the beach. They examined the base of the 
lofty cliffs which stretch away northward from the 
cape. E'ot a single vestige of the lost navigator could 
anywhere be discovered. 

Captain Kennedy now determined immediately to 
return to the ship. He pushed directly across North 
Somerset toward Batty Bay, intending to follow the 
3oast to Whaler Point. This route was double the 
distance of the one already followed ; but it was 
hoped that perhaps it might lead to some desirable 
results. On the first day they encamped about mid- 
way between Cape Walker and Limestone Island. 
They passed by Cunningham Inlet, Cape Giftbrd, and 
Cape Rennel. At Cape McClintock they found the 
small store of provisions which Sir John Ross had 
left there in 1849. On the 15th of May they reached 
Whaler Point. On the 27th, they left Whaler Point, 
to return directly to the Prince Albert, and on the 
30th their land journey ended by their safe arrival at 
the vessel. 

Various preparations for their departure now occu- 
pied the attention of the seamen. On the 21st of July 
these were completed ; . but they found it impossible 
to move the ship. The ice had congealed firmly 
around her. The only possibility of releasing her 
was by sawing a canal through the ice which still ob- 
structed the bay. After the hard labor of a week, a 
canal half a mile in length, and sufficiently wide to 



472 rROGRESS of arctic BtSCOYF.Rr. 

permit tlie vessel to pass was cut throngli. This clian- 
nel was then cleared of the ice by the use of Cope- 
land's blasting cylinders. 

On the 6th of August Oaptain Kennedy and his 
crew joyfully bade farewell to Batty Bay, where the 
Prince Albert had remained three hundred and 
thirty days. In Elwin Bay they were detained a 
whole week by the compact masses of ice which still 
obstructed the sea. On the 17th, the ice suddenly 
cleared away, and they then steered for Beech ey Island. 
At this point they met the " North Star," from Eng- 
land, commanded by Captain Pullen, which had been 
despatched by the British Admiralty, to pursue the 
search after Sir John Franklin. 

Having completed the object of the expedition, as 
far as had been in his power, though without any 
very satisfactory results. Captain Kennedy on the 
24th of August bore away for England, leaving the 
North Star preparing to winter at Beechey Island, and 
carrying with him the latest dispatches for the Ad- 
miralty from Commander Pullen. He wished to 
touch on his voyage at Navy Board Inlet, hoping to 
be able to ascertain the state of the stores which had 
been placed there. Two unsuccessful attempts to ac- 
complish this purpose were defeated, and Captain 
Kennedy was then compelled by stress of weather, to 
relinquish that design. On the 21st of September 
the Prince Albert reached Cape Farewell ; and on 
the 7th of October, she anchored in Aberdeen Har- 
bor. Six weeks had elapsed since the commence- 
ment of her homeward-bound voyage. The entire 
expedition had occupied the periodf altogether of fif- 
teen months. During their winter stay at Whaler 
Point, many of the men had traveled two thousand 
miles in excursions in various directions. The expe- 
dition settled the point, that Sir John Franklin could 
not have advanced by Cape Walker, but had taken the 
northern route through Queen Channel and Penny 
Strait ; and that traces of his fate could alone be 



DR. kane's expedition. 473 

found from the westward or Bebring's Straits. Yet 
there too, other researches, equally sagacious, perse- 
vering and thorough, have all unfortunately proved 
equally unsuccessful ! 

Arctic Explorations ; the second Grinnell Expe- 
dition IN SEARCH OF SiR JoHN FrANKLIN IN 1853, '54, 

'55, BY Dr. E. K. Kane, in the Brig " Advance.'' 

In December, 1852, Dr. Kane received his orders 
from the ISTavy Department at Washington, to con- 
duct an expedition into the Arctic regions in search 
of the great English navigator. The ship " Advance," 
in which he had formerly sailed, was placed under 
his command. He immediately proceeded to select 
his crew, to equip the vessel, and to make the other 
preparations which were necessary. His party num- 
bered seventeen picked men, all of whom had volun- 
teered to try with him the perilous vicissitudes of 
his daring venture. The brig sailed from the port 
of New York, on the 30th of May, 1853; and in 
eighteen days arrived at St. Johns, New Foundland. 
After providing themselves at this place with an ad- 
ditional stock of fresh meat, and a valuable team of 
Newfoundland dogs, they steered for the coast of 
Greenland. 

The avowed purpose of this second Arctic journey 
of Dr. Kane was, to explore what he believed to be 
the probable extension of the northern promontory of 
the peninsula of Greenland. He also thought that 
the extreme northern headland of this frozen region 
undoubtedly contained and would exhibit traces of 
the lost navigators. He supposed that the chain of 
the great land-masses of Greenland might extend very 
far toward the North Pole ; that Sir John Franklin 
might also have been attracted by this theory, and 
might have pursued this route ; and that by a 
thorough search in that direction, the utmost limits 
of which had not yet been invaded or explored by big 



4:74 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

bold and adventurous predecessors, some light might 
not only be obtained to solve the great enigma which 
still engrossed the wonder of men, but also new and 
independent discoveries might be made in that un- 
known region. 

On the 1st of July Dr. Kane entered the harbor 
of Fiskernoes, one of the Danish settlements of Green- 
land. This obscure and lonely community is sup- 
ported by their trade in codfish. The strangers were 
received with simple hospitality by Mr: Lazzen, the 
superintendent of the colony. Some fresh provisions 
were here also obtained, and an Esquimaux hunter of 
superior skill was enlisted in the service of the party. 
Proceeding on from this point, the other Danish 
settlements of Greenland were successively visited — 
Lichtenfels, Sukkertoppen, Proven, Upernavick,at the 
last of which places the first Grinnell expedition of 
1851 had rested after its winter drift. At length they 
reached Yotlik, the most northern point in Greenland 
inhabited by human beings. Beyond this the coast 
may be regarded as having been until that period, 
unexplored. From Yotlik, Dr. Kane steered north- 
ward toward Baffin's Islands, which he found then 
clear of ice ; and passing by Duck Island, bore away 
for Wilcox Point. As he approached Melville Bay 
he was enveloped in a thick fog, during the preva- 
lence of which he drifted among the icebergs. Af- 
ter a hard day's work with the boats, they towed the 
brig away from these unpleasant and dangerous 
neighbors. He then determined to stand westward, 
. and double Melville Bay by an outside passage, un- 
less prevented and intercepted by the pack. In exe- 
cuting tliis purpose he concluded, in order to avoid 
the drifting floes, to anchor to an ice-berg. Eigh-t 
hours were spent in the severe labor of warping, heav- 
ing, and planting the anchors. But scarcely had this 
task been finished, when the attention of the crew was 
attracted by a loud crackling sound aloft. Small frag- 
ments of ice began to descend. The ship became in 



DB. kane's expedition. 4:75 

imminent peril from the falling fragments of tlie dis- 
solving mountain. Scarcely had she cast off from 
the ice-berg, when the face of it descended in ruins 
upon the sea, crashing and roaring with a thunder 
not unlike that of artillery. 

On the 5th of August they passed the " Crimson 
Cliffs," so called, from the appearance usually pre- 
sented by their snow-clad summits. Next day they 
reached Hakluyt Island ; which is surmounted by a 
tall spire springing six hundred feet into the heavens 
above the level of the water. They soon passed Capes 
Alexander and Isabella, and thus entered Smith's 
Sound. Having reached Littleton Island, Dr. Kane 
determined to deposit here a supply of provisions, 
and some permanent traces of his route, to be used 
in case it should be necessary afterward to send an 
exploring party to discover the fate of his own. The 
life-boat was accordingly buried here, containing a 
supply of pemmican, blankets, and India rubber cloth. 
They endeavored to fortify the precious deposit from 
the claws of the Polar bear. And here on this lone- 
ly spot, the party were surprised to find the traces of 
Esquimaux life. The ruins of stone huts, and even 
the frozen corpses of the dead were discovered ; and 
80 singular had been the action of the intense cold 
upon me dead bodies, that though they had probably 
occupied their cheerless homes for a century, they 
were still not decomposed. 

The 20tli of August still found the brig and her 
gallant crew navigating the dangerous and ice-la- 
dened waters of Smith's Sound. At this date they en- 
countered a storm of extraordinary fury ; and made 
one of those narrow escapes from destruction, which 
sometimes give an air more of romance than of reali- 
ty to the adventures of Arctic explorers. In a terrific 
gale their three hawsers were broken, and the brig 
drifted with fearful rapidity under the furious press- 
ure of the storm. Onlv by the utmost heroism and 
skill was the Advance kept from being dashed to 

30 T* 



4:76 PROGKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVEKY. 

pieces against the mountains of ice which tossed^ 
rolled, and surged around her in the deep. The 
greatest danger of all was after the storm had partly 
lulled, when the bergs continued to thump against 
the floe-ice ; and the certainty of being crushed be- 
tween the two, stared the voyagers in the face. A 
sudden means of escape presentecl itself, and with ad- 
mirable dexterity and promptitude the crew availed 
themselves of it. A low, water-washed berg at that 
moment came driving along past the Advance. An 
anchor was instantly planted in its side and held fast 
by a whale line. Carried along with fearful rapidi- 
ty by this gigantic tow-horse, the little brig was 
drifted out of danger, and once more escaped the im- 
pending ruin. She had a close shave of it neverthe- 
less, and would have lost her port quarter-boat had 
it not been taken in from the davits. 

The navigators continued their northern route by 
tracking along the ice-belt which hugs the frozen 
shore. On the 23d of August they had reached 78° 
41' north latitude. This placed them further north 
than any of their predecessors had been, except Cap- 
tain Parry. During the progress of the journey, the 
whole coast had been inspected carefully ; yet no 
traces of Sir John Franklin had been discovered. On 
the 28th of August Dr. Kane determined to send out 
an expedition from the vessel to make further search, 
as the condition of the ice prevented the Advance 
from being brought near to the shore. The whale- 
boat was chosen for this adventure. They took with 
them a sledge and a supply of pemmican. The par- 
ty consisted of seven persons selected from the crew. 
The vessel was placed under the temporary control 
pf Mr. Ohlsen. The adventurers were provided with 
buftalo robes, and other necessary means of protec 
tion against the extreme cold. Their progress how- 
ever was slow, not making more than seven miles per 
day, in consequence of the obstructions of the ice 
along the shore. Yery soon they were compelled to 



DE. kane's expedition. 477 

abi ^don the boat, and employ their sledge. The ab- 
rupt nature of the ground over which they traveled 
TT ay be inferred from the fact, that frequently they 
?7ere constrained to carry the sledge on their shoul- 
i<5rs over precipices and gorges in the ice, and over 
high and perpendicular knolls of snow. 

In this trip the travelers found many skeletons of 
the reindeer. Dr. Kane ascertained by scientific ob- 
servation, that the mean elevation of this part of the 
coast of Greenland was thirteen hundred feet. After 
five days' laborious travel, he was but forty miles dis- 
tant from the brig. Here he determined to leave the 
sledge behind and proceed on foot. On the 5th of 
September they discovered a bay much larger than 
any other previously known to extend from Smith's 
Straits. It was fed by a large river which poured a 
flood of tumultuous waters into it from the interior 
of North Greenland. It was fully three quarters of 
a mile wide at its mouth. The gallant navigators 
gave it the name of Mary Minturn River, after the 
sister of Mrs. H. Grinnell. This river was traced for 
forty miles toward its mouth ; and its origin was found 
to be derived from the melting snows of the interior 
glaciers. 

From his researches in this region. Dr. Kane came 
to the conclusion that this coast of Greenland faced 
to the north. His longitude here was 78° 41' west. 
After sixteen miles of foct journey the company 
reached a great headland to which they gave the 
name , of Thackeray. Eight miles further on, a 
similar eminence attracted their attention ; to which 
they applied the epithet of Hawkes. The table-lands 
here were twelve hundred feet high. The party con- 
tinued their difficult and dangerous journey until they 
reached some lofty headlands, where they determined 
to terminate their excursion. These reached an alti- 
tude of eleven hundred feet, and overlooked an ex- 
panse extending beyond the eighteenth parallel of 
latitude. The view Irom this elevation was marked 



4:78 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

by every element of gloomy and cheerless magnill 
cence. On the left, the western shore of the sound 
stretched away toward the northern pole. To the 
right a rugged and rolling country appeared, which 
ended in the Great Humboldt Glacier. Toward the 
north-east the projecting headland called Cape An- 
drew Jackson, appeared; and the vast area between 
was a sea of solid ice. Farther still, a stream of ice- 
bergs presented their rugged and unseemly bulks to 
the eye of the observer. 

Having carefully examined the whole country as 
far as his glasses would reach. Dr. Kane determined 
to return to the Advance. Winter was now rapidly 
approaching, and it was necessary to select some ap- 
propriate spot in which the crew and the vessel might 
pass its long, gloomy, and dangerous interval. For 
various reasons which need not here be detailed, Dr. 
Kane resolved to remain where he then was. He 
had arrived at the conclusion that Rensselaer Harbor 
would be the most desirable winter quarters ; and on 
the 10th of September they commenced the labors 
necessary to render their position tenable and safe. 
They removed the contents of the hold of the vessel 
to a store-house which they prepared on Butter Island. 
A deck-house was built on the vessel, in which the 
different qualities of ventilation, warmth, dryness, 
room, and comfort, were sought to the utmost possi- 
ble extent. A site for the observatory was selected. 
Stones were hauled over the ice on sledges for its erec- 
tion. Its location was on a rocky inlet about a hun- 
dred yards from the vessel, which they named Fern 
Rock. Preparations were also made, preparatory to 
the work of establishing provision depots on the coast 
of Greenland. The advantage of these provision de- 
pots will appear from the fact that by their assistance, 
expeditions of search could afterward be conducted 
with the use of sledges and dogs. The provisions for 
the latter, if taken on the journeys themselves, form 
30 heavy a load as seriously to embarrass the mov© 



DR. kake's expedition. 479 

ments of the travelers. But when they were released 
from this labor, these dogs conveyed the sledges and 
their occupants on long journeys successfully, and 
with great rapidity on their tours of examination. 

On the 20th of September the first party organized 
to establish provision depots was sent out. It consist- 
ed of seven men. A sledge thirteen feet in length, 
called the " Faith," was filled with pemmican, and 
was drawn by those attached to it, by means of track- 
ropes termed rue-raddies, which were passed around 
the shoulder and under the arms. The intended lo- 
cation of this depot was sixty miles from the brig, on 
the Greenland coast. As the bold and hardy adven- 
turers started forth, they were saluted with three 
hearty cheers by their comrades who remained with 
the vessel. 

The life of the party which remained in the vessel 
was not devoid of incident and interest. They made 
a desperate attempt to smoke out the rats with which 
they were infested. To accomplish this purpose, a 
quantity of charcoal was burnt, after the hatches had 
been shut down, and every visible crevice had been 
stopped. A large quantity of carbonic acid gas was 
then generated, and the crew spent one night on deck 
in order to give the rats fair play. One or two of the 
seamen made a narrow escape from suffocation, by 
venturing during the night into the fumigated por- 
tion of the ship. They were also assailed by another 
peril. A barrel of charcoal by some means became 
ignited, which had been left in the carpenter's room 
at some distance from the stove. After some labor 
and more anxiety, the fire was suppressed before any 
very serious damage had been done to the vessel. The 
corpses of twenty-eight defunct rats, of all sizes, ages, 
and sexes, became the next day the trophies of the 
successful attack of the crew upon their foes. 

By the 10th of October the party which had been 
Bent to establish the first depot of provisions, had 
been absent twenty days ; and their return was anx- 



480 PBOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVEBT. 

iouely expected. Dr. Kaue at length determined to 
start out in search of them. He traveled with one 
companion on a sledge drawn by four Newfoundland 
dogs. He averaged twenty miles per day with this 
singular team. On the 15th, several hours before sun- 
rise, he perceived on the distant and snowy waste, a 
dark object which seemed to move. It proved to be 
the returning depot-party. They had traveled at the 
rate of eighteen miles per day, and had been twenty- 
eight days engaged in their laborious expedition. 
Some of their limbs had been frozen, and they had met 
with other mishaps, though none were of a very seri- 
ous nature, and they had accomplished the purpose 
for which they had been sent out. The greeting 
which ensued on their return to the ship, was hearty 
on both sides. They had made the first deposit of 
provision at CajDC Russell. Thirty miles further on, 
they left about a hundred and ten pounds of pemmi- 
can and beef, about thirty pounds of a mixture of 
pemmican and meal, and a bag of bread. On the 
10th of October they made their third and last de- 
posit on an island called James McGary, after the 
second ofiicer of the expedition. Here they erected 
a cairn, and buried six hundred and seventy pounds 
of pemmican, and forty of meat, biscuit, with other 
items, making in all eight iiundred pounds. One in- 
cident which occurred during their journey, illustrates 
very clearly some of the perils which attend Arctic 
travel. The company had pitched their tent for the 
night and had retired to rest. It was about mid- 
night. They had been lulled to slumber by the grand 
monotonous thundering of the neighboring glaciers. 
Suddenly the fioe on which the tent was placed, 
cracked with a stupendous report directly beneath 
them. The sleeping party needed no further prompt- 
ings to bestir themselves. Kepeated reports around 
them gave evidence that the ice was breaking up. 
The sledge was immediately placed upon a detached 
piece of ice, and rowed and paddled to one of the 



DB. kane's expedition. . 481 

firmer fields which remained attached to the bergs. 
Here they obtained safety until the morning, when 
they quickly removed from their dangerous position. 
They eventually returned in safety to the brig. 

By the 7th of ISTovember, 1853, the darkness of an 
Arctic winter began to settle down upon them. It 
was necessary to keep the lamps lit constantly. They 
had the comfortable prospect of ninety days of dark- 
ness yet to come. It was natural that the lonely ad- 
venturers should begin to devise some means of 
amusement, by which they might beguile the cheer- 
less monotony of their existence. A fancy ball was 
projected, and an Arctic journal bearing the appro- 
priate title of "The Ice Blink," was commenced. 
Thus the slow and tedious days and nights of their 
winter sojourn wore on. In spite of the intense cold, 
Dr. Kane continued to make his magnetic observa- 
tions in the observatory. When the thermometer 
stood at forty-nine degrees below zero, and even at 
sixty-four degrees below zero, he still effected his as- 
tronomical investigations and calculations. 

On the 21st of January the first traces of the re- 
turning light became visible. Its approach was in- 
dicated by a beauteous orange tint, which flushed the 
distant southern horizon. But still, the darkness 
seemed to be eternal and unvarying. The continued 
absence of light appeared to affect the health of the 
party, as much as the excessive rigor of the cold. 
By the 21st of February the sun's rays became clearly 
visible, and when March arrived, it brought with it 
the almost perpetual day which alternately takes the 
place in the Arctic realms of almost perpetual night. 
During the winter, nine noble Newfoundland, and 
thirty-five Esquimaux dogs, which were of the ut- 
most value, had perished. Six only remained out 
of the whole number which had been taken at the 
commencement of the expedition ; and these were 
now their only reliance in their future operations. 

By the 18th of March the spring tides began ta 



i82 PBOGKESS OF ABOTIC DISCOVERY. 

break and move the massive ice which still bound the 
Arctic Sea. The ice commenced to grind and crush • 
the water to dash to and fro ; and the vessel to rise 
and descend in a range of seventeen feet per day. 
On the 20th a depot-party was sent out, preparatory 
to the commencement of the operations of the sum- 
mer. Those who remained in the ship commenced 
to clean it, to take down the forward bulwarks and to 
clear the decks. The necessary preparations for in- 
land trips and researches were made ; sledges and 
accoutrements were contrived, and moccasins were 
fabricated. While these labors occupied their atten- 
tion, a portion of the depot party suddenly reap 
peared at the vessel. They brought back a terrible 
report. They had left four of their number lying on 
the ice frozen and disabled, and they had returned a 
great distance to obtain instant relief. 

Not a moment was to be lost. Ohlsen, the only 
one of the returned party who seemed able to give 
any information, was wrapped up in buffalo robes and 
placed upon a sledge. Nine men started out to the 
rescue. The cold was intense, ranging seventy-eight 
degrees below the freezing point. The instant the 
party ceased to move they would have been froze-i to 
death. Violent exercise alone kept them alive. 
When they ventured to apply snow to their lips to 
slake their thirst, it burnt like caustic, and blood im- 
mediately followed. Some of the men were seized 
with trembling fits, and some with attacks of short 
breath. Dr. Kane himself, fainted twice upon the 
snow under the intense cold. 

After a laborious and dangerous journey of twenty- 
one hours, the lost party were discovered. They were 
nearly forty miles distant from the brig. Their con- 
dition was perilous in the extreme ; and the succor 
did not come a moment too soon. But the rescuers 
were scarcely better off than the rescued. They were 
compelled to drag a load of nine hundred pounds 
upon the sledge ; and during their return trip tho 



DR. Kane's expedition. 483 

whole party were in imminent danger of being frozen 
to death. They conld with the utmost difficulty resist 
the disposition to sleep, which would have immediate- 
ly sealed their fate. After a fearful journey of sev- 
eral days the party regained the brig ; but the suffer- 
ings of that terrible occasion were almost beyond the 
power of imagination. They had traveled about 
ninety miles ; and most of the men had become tem- 
porarily delirious ; nearly all were frozen in some 
portions of their bodies ; and two of them ultimately 
died in consequence of their exposure. 

On the 27th of April, the time having arrived to con- 
tinue his researches both after Sir John Franklin and 
in Arctic discovery, Dr. Kane determined to resume 
his expeditions. He resolved now to follow the ice- 
belt to the Great Glacier of Humboldt, and thence to 
stretch along the face of the glacier, toward the west 
of north, and make an attempt to cross the ice to the 
American side of the channel. The object of this 
bold venture was to attain the utmost limit of the 
shore of Greenland ; to measure the waste Which ex- 
tended between it and the unknown west ; and thus 
to reveal, if possible, some of the mysteries which 
surrounded the North Pole. The journey was imme- 
diately commenced. After many adventures and 
sufferings which we will not describe, the Great Gla- 
cier of Humboldt was reached. A more magnificent 
object than this does not exist on the globe. It pre- 
sents a shining wall of ice 300 feet in height, frown- 
ing over the frozen sea below, and extends unbroken 
for sixty miles. It is the great crystal bridge which 
has for ages connected together the two continents of 
America and Greenland, and it extends from the sea 
toward the interior, through vast and unknown 
regions. 

Dr. Kane now determined to organize a double 
party, in order to ascertain whether a channel or any 
form of outlet existed to the northern extremity of 
the coast of Greenland. He was convinced of the 



484 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

existence of such a channel from the movements of 
the ice-bergs ; from the physical character of the 
tides ; as well as from certain and uniform analogies 
of physical geography. 

On the 3d of June one of the parties of explora- 
tion set out from the brig. Tliey had a large sledge 
tliirteen feet long. They aimed directly for the gla- 
cier-barrier on the Greenland side. Their orders were 
to attempt to scale the ice and examine the interior 
of the gYQ^it mer-de-glace. 

On the 27th of June one of the parties, directed by 
McGarry and Bonsall, returned to the brig. Several 
of them had become nearly blind. After twelve 
days' travel they had reached the Great Glacier. 
They found the depot of provisions, which had been 
deposited the previous season, destroyed by the 
bears. These brutes had broken open the tin cases 
in which the pemmican had been deposited. An al- 
cohol cask strongly bound in iron was dashed into 
fragments ; and a tin liquor can was mashed and 
twisted into a ball. This party of explorers had 
found it impossible to scale the Great Glacier, and 
returned to the brig without having effected any re- 
sults of importance. 

The other party, which had been placed under the 
guidance of Mr. Morton, left the vessel on the 4th of 
June. On the 15th they reached the foot of the 
Great Glacier. They steered northward, keeping 
parallel with the glacier, and from five to seven miles 
distant from it. The thickness of the ice over which 
they journeyed was found to be seven feet five 
incnes. They traveled frequently with the snow up 
to their knees. When they had reached Peabody 
Bay they encountered the bergs, whose surface was 
fresh and glassy. Some of these were rectangular 
in shape and some were square ; and their length va- 
ried from a quarter of a mile to a mile. The task of 
traveling over these bergs was full of difficulty and 



DE. KANE*S EXPEDITION. 485 

danger. At length they made their way through 
them to the smoother ice which lay beyond. 

On the 19th of June, having encamped, Morton as- 
cended a high berg, in order to examine their future 
route and survey the surrounding desolation. From 
this point he beheld an extensive plain which stretched 
away toward the north, which proved to be the Great 
Glacier of Humboldt, as it appeared toward the in- 
terior, which also fronted on the bay. From this 
point the advance of the party was perilous. They 
were frequently arrested by wide and deep fissures in 
the ice. This di'fficulty compelled them to turn to- 
ward the west. Some of these chasms were four feet 
wide, and contained water at the bottom. From this 
point they beheld the distant northern shore, termed 
the " West Land." Its appearance was mountainous 
and rolling. Its distance from them seemed to be 
about sixty miles. 

At length, by the 2l9t of June, the party reached 
a point opposite the termination of the Great Glacier. 
It appeared to be mixed with earth and rocks. Trav- 
eling on, they reached at length the head of Kennedy 
channel, and saw beyond that the open water. Passing 
in their route a cape, they called it Cape Andrew Jack- 
son. Here they found good smooth ice ; for during 
the last few days they had passed over rotten ice, 
which not unfrequently threatened to break beneath 
them. Having entered the curve of a bay, they 
named it after Robert Morris, the great financier of 
the revolution. On the smooth ice in this vicinity the 
party advanced at the rate of six miles per hour. 

Kennedy Channel here grew narrower, but after- 
ward it widened again. Broken ice in large masses 
was floating in it ; but there were passages fifteen 
miles in width, which remained perfectly clear. Six 
miles inward from the channel, mountains rose to the 
view. On the 22d of June they encamped, after hav- 
ing traveled forty-eight miles in a direct line. They 
were still upon the shores of the channel. They could 



4:86 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

plainly see the opposite sliore, which appeared pre- 
cipitous, and surmounted with sugar-loaf shaped 
mountains. At this part of their journey they en- 
countered a Polar bear, with her cub. A desperate 
fight ensued, in which the singular instincts of nature 
were strikingly illustrated, by the desperate efforts 
made by the poor brute to protect her helpless off- 
spring. Both were slain. A shallow bay covered 
with ice was then crossed. They passed several isl- 
ands which lay in the channel, which they named 
after Sir John Franklin and Captain Crozier. The 
cliffs which here constituted the shore of the chan- 
nel were very high, towering at least two thou- 
sand feet above its surface. The party attempted to 
ascend these cliffs ; but found it impossible to mount 
more than a few hundred feet. On the highest point 
which they attained, a walking pole was fastened, 
with the Grinnell flag of the Antartic attached to it ; 
and thus for an hour and a half this standard was per- 
mitted to wave over the highest northern region of 
the earth ever attained by the foot of man. 

They here encountered a cape, and the party de- 
sired to pass around it, in order to ascertain whether 
there lay any unknown land beyond it. But they 
found it impossible to advance. This then was the 
utmost limit and termination of their journey toward 
the pole. Mr. Morton ascended an eminence here, 
and' carefully scrutinized the aspects of nature all 
around him. Six degrees toward the west of north, 
he observed a lofty peak, truncated in its form, and 
about three thousand feet in height. This elevation 
is named Mount Edward Parry, after the great pio- 
neer of Arctic adventure ; and is the most extreme 
northern point of land known to exist upon the globe. 
From the position which Mr. Morton had attained, 
he beheld toward the north, from an elevation of four 
hundred feet, a boundless waste of waters stretching 
away toward the pole. Not a particle of ice encum- 
bered its surface. He heard the dashing of unfrozen 



DE. Kane's expeditioit. 487 

wares, and beheld a rolling surf like that of more 
genial climes, rushing and dashing against the rocks 
upon the shore. This was certainly a mysterious 
phenomenon. Here was a fluid sea, in the midst of 
whole continents of ice, and that sea seemed to wash 
the Pole itself The eye of the explorer surveyed at 
least forty miles of uninterrupted water in a northern 
direction. The point thus reached in this exploring 
expedition, was about five hundred miles distant from 
the Pole. Had the party been able to convey thither 
a boat, they might have embarked upon the bright 
and placid waters of that lonely ocean. But having 
been able to make this journey only with the sledge, 
further explorations were of course impossible. The 
most remarkable development connected with these 
discoveries was, that the temperature was here found 
to be much more moderate than it was further south. 
Marine birds sailed through the heavens. Rippling 
waves followed each other on the surface of the deep. 
A few stunted flowers grew over the barren and 
rocky shore. The inference which may be drawn 
from these and other facts is, that this open sea, 
termed the Polar Basin, stretches to the Pole itself, 
or at least continues a great distance until its course 
is interrupted by other projections of the terra firma. 
These are mysterious inquiries, still the great desid- 
erata of Arctic travel ; which will remain unanswered, 
until some more successful explorer, gifted with 
greater physical endurance, if any such can be, and 
furnished with ampler and more abundant facilities 
than any of his predecessors, shall persist in defiance 
of every impediment in advancing, until he boldly 
plants his foot upon the very spot now termed the 
North Pole. 

The several parties which had been sent forth by 
Dr. Kane, to explore the regions just described, hav- 
ing returned, the season of Arctic travel had nearly 
terminated, and the members of the expedition were 
about to relapse into winter quarters, with their usuaL 



4:88 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

darkness, monotony, and gloom. But before resign- 
ing themselves entirely to this unwelcome seclusion, 
Dr. Kane resolved to make an, effort to reach Beechey 
Island. At this point, already so frequently referred 
to in the preceding pages. Sir Edward Belcher's 
squadron was then supposed to be stationed; and 
from them the American explorers might obtain 
both provisions and information. Accordingly, Dr. 
Kane manned his boat, called the "Forlorn Hope," 
which was twenty-three feet long, and six feet and a 
half beam. The necessary amount of provisions were 
placed on board, and the bold venture was undertaken. 
Sometimes the boat was navigated through the un- 
frozen channels of water, which intervened between 
the floes of ice ; at others she was placed on a large 
sledge called the " Faith," and thus transported over 
the frozen wastes. 

This party approached Littleton Island, which had 
been visited by Captain Inglefleld. They here ob- 
tained a vast quantity of eider ducks. They then 
passed Flagstaff Point and Combermere Cape. Then 
came Cape Isabella and Cape Frederick YII. On 
the 23d of July they reached Hakluyt Island; and 
thence they steered for Cary Islands. But on the 
Slst of July, when they had reached a point but ten 
miles distant from Cape Parry, their further progress 
was absolutely stopped. A solid mass of ice lay be- 
fore them on the sea, extending as far as the eye 
could reach. This barrier was composed of the vast 
seas of ice which had drifted through Jones' Sound on 
the west, and those of Murchison's on the east. The 
adventurers were now compelled to retrace their 
way. About the 1st of August they regained the 
brig, without having met with any accident, but also 
without having succeeded in attaining the object of 
their excursion. They found the "Advance" just as 
tightly wedged into the ice as it had been during the 
preceding eleven months, with no hope of getting 
ner released. Two important questions now demand* 



Djs. kane's expedition. 48y 

ed their attention. The first was, how they were to 
pass this, their second winter in the Arctic regions ; 
and how they were to make their escape in the ensu- 
ing spring. 

Whatever might be the issue of the future. Dr. Kane 
determined to leave a memorial at the spot which 
he then occupied, to prove to his successors the fact 
that he and his expedition had been there. He paint- 
ed the words " Advance, A. D. 1853-54," upon the 
broad face of a rock, which rested on a high cliff look- 
ing out upon the frozen waste. Near this spot a hole 
was drilled into the rock, and a paper containing a 
history of the expedition and its present condition, 
was placed in glass, and sealed into the cavity with 
melted lead. Close at hand were buried the corpses 
of the two members of the expedition who had al- 
ready ended their toils and sufferings. 

The prospect of a second winter amid the eternal 
snows and ice of the Polar Circle, was not inviting to 
the adventurers. A portion of them felt convinced 
of the practicability of an immediate escape to the 
south. On the 24th of August Dr. Kane summoned 
all hands together, and clearly stated to them the as- 
pects of the case. He advised that all should remain 
by the brig till the next spring ; although he declared 
that those who wished to return could make the at- 
tempt. Eight men concluded to remain ; and nine 
of them resolved that, rather than endure the miseries 
of a second winter near the Pole, they would run the 
risks of an instant attempt to escape. This resolution 
they made immediate preparations to execute. A 
full share of the remaining provisions was measured 
out to them. They were assured of a welcome re- 
ception if they chose to return; and they started 
forth , on August 28th from the brig. One of this 
party returned to the vessel in a few days ; the rest 
wandered for many months, and endured much misery 
and exposure, before they rejoined their wiser com 
rades in the brig. U 31 



arSU PROGKfiSS oF AECTIC DISCOVERY. 

Dr. Kane and the eight men who remained with 
him, immediately began to prepare for the horrors of 
the ensuing winter. They gathered a large amount 
of moss with which they lined and padded the quar- 
ter-deck. This expedient rendered their cabin imper- 
ious to the changes and the extreme severity of the 
atmosphere. They stripped off the outer-deck plank- 
ing of the brig, for the purpose of fire-wood. The 
chief necessity of the explorers was fresh meat, to 
guard them against the scurvy. To obtain this food, 
frequent excursions were made for the purpose of cap- 
turing seals. On one of these occasions Dr. Kane 
narrowly escaped a watery grave. He was at twelve 
miles' distance from the brig, with a single attendant. 
The ice broke beneath their sledge, and they were 
precipitated into the water. After great exertions 
and amid extreme danger, they succeeded in regain- 
ing ice sufficiently strong to bear their weight. They 
lost their sledge, tent, kayack, guns, and snow-shoes. 

At length, by the 21st of October, the rays of the 
sun had ceased to reach them; and darkness — the 
cold and cheerless darkness of an Arctic night settled 
down upon them. They were compelled to confine 
themselves to the precincts of their gloomy cabin, 
and waste away as best they could, the slow hours 
of their long winter. Their only light was an occa- 
sional aurora, whose pale, bright arch of brilliant hues 
seemed to be resting on the distant Pole. The ther- 
mometer now ranged 34° below zero. Thus, in this 
strange monotony of routine and incident, November 
and December wore away ; except that during the 
latter month, a portion of the party who had deserted 
the brig on the 28th of August previous, returned to 
their old quarters. They had suffered much ; and 
liad left the remainder of their party two hundred 
miles distant in the midst of great destitution. The 
thermometer was then fifty degrees below zero. When 
Christmas came it was celebrated for the second time 
by this gallant crew of heroes, amid the Arctic soli 



DK. kane's expedition. 491 

fcudes, with such means as they could command — 
which indeed were few ; and thus ended with them 
the year 1854. 

The three most dangerous and dreary months of 
the year — January, February, and March — were now 
before them. During these months it was exceeding 
ly difficult for the adventurers to procure fresh meat, 
which was their only preventive and cure of scurvy. 
With this disease every member of the party became 
at last infected ; some so seriously that tneir lives 
were in danger. Thus the dreary drama of their Arc- 
tic exile dragged on. They waited patiently for the 
time to arrive when they could commence the neces- 
sary preparations for the journey of thirteen hundred 
miles which they would undertake in the spring. 
The vessel would evidently remain so firmly fixed in 
an ocean of ice, that its removal would be utterly im- 
possible. Their return must be efi:ected with the com- 
bined use of sledges and boats. Yet before commenc- 
ing a final retreat, Dr. Kane resolved to attempt once 
more a northern excursion, hoping that it might re- 
sult in some useful discovery connected with the ob- 
ject of the expedition. 

The region which was yet to be explored was the 
farther shores beyond Kennedy Channel. The aid of 
the dogs was indispensable to the accomplishment 
of this task ; and there were but four left out of the 
sixty-two, which composed their stock when they left 
Newfoundland. An arrangement was however made 
with Kalutunah, one of the wandering Esquimaux 
whom they knew, for the use of his dogs and three 
sledges. Thus reenforced. Dr. Kane, accompanied by 
several experienced Esquimaux travelers, commenced 
his journey. In two hours they reached a lofty berg 
fifteen miles north of the brig. The view of the chan- 
nel presented from the summit of this berg was not 
very favorable. .The outside channel seemed filled 
with squeezed ice ; and on the frozen plain beyond, 
the bergs appeared o be much distorted. 



4:92 PROGliESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Nevertheless, Dr. Kane resolved to make the ven- 
ture. They quickly passed fifteen miles further; 
when the party halted to feed and rest. The journey 
was then resumed. But unfortunately the traces of 
a Polar bear soon attracted the attention of the Esqui- 
maux, and the temptation was too strong for famished 
men to resist. A chase ensued. The animal was 
quickly brought to bay, attacked, and dispatched. 
Then ensued another gorge, and after the gorge there 
necessarily came an interval of repose and sleep. 

A sleep of four hours' duration ensued upon the 
open snow ; after which the party arose and resumed 
their journey. Dr. Kane desired to steer directly to 
the northward ; but his associates declared that to 
cross so high up as they then were, was impossible. 
The fate of Baker and Schubert in the preceding year, 
who attempted this feat, recurred to their recollec- 
tion, and convinced them that the attempt would be 
then extremely hazardous. Again was the leader of 
the expedition fated to experience a disappointment, 
and to return to the brig without having accomplished 
the purpose for which he set forth. But before he 
did so, he embraced the opportunity which was with- 
in his reach, once more to examine the Great Hum- 
boldt Glacier, one of the most remarkable monuments 
in nature. The whole horizon before him was bound- 
ed by long lines of ice-bergs. They undulated about 
the horizon, but as they descended to the sea, they 
resembled an uneven plain with an inclination of 
about nine degrees, still diminishing as they ap- 
proached the foreground. Vast crevasses appeared in 
the distance like mei'e wrinkles. These grew larger 
as they approached the sea, where they expanded in- 
to gigantic stairwa^^s. 

The appearance of this Great Humboldt Glacier 
resembles in some respects the frozen masses of the 
Alps ; and reminded the bold adventurer of many 
scenes which he had witnessed in the mountains of 
Norway and Switzerland. The average height of 



DB. kane's expedition. 493 

this great giacier along the water's edge was about 
three hundred feet ; and this height was presented 
by an uniform perspective of sixty miles in length ; 
thus exhibiting one of the most sublime and imposing 
spectacles which the mind can conceive. The config- 
urations of its surface and form clearly indicate that 
its inequalities follow those of the rocky soil on which 
it rests. Having made various observations upon the 
phenomena connected with this glacier, Dr. Kane re- 
sumed his return toward the brig. The company 
traveled over the frozen surface of the ice to the south 
of Peabody Bay. The first spot at which they landed 
was called Cape James Kent. It was a rugged and 
lofty headland ; and it presented in the distance a 
strange spectacle of a rude surface, covered with mil- 
lions of tons of rubbish, rocks of every imaginable 
shape, and slates of immense size and of infinite va- 
riety of forms. On the south-eastern corner of Mar- 
shall Bay the party found a group of Esquimaux re- 
mains, consisting of a few deserted huts and graves. 
They were the rude and melancholy relics of a race 
of lonely wanderers who had passed away. These 
remains were surrounded by the bones of the seal and 
the walrus, and the dissevered vertebrae of a whale. 
There were indications that the spot had long been 
deserted ; and yet no changes had been effected by 
the silent lapse of time in those frozen and primeval 
solitudes, in the appearance and position of these 
simple monuments. 

This journey was enlivened by several interesting 
bear hunts ; and a few details respecting this Arctic 
entertainment may here not be inappropriate. 

The dogs with which these hunts are carried on, 
are very carefully trained to play their part. This 
part is not to attack the bear, but to hinder and im- 
pede his flight. While one of these dogs occupies 
his attention in front, another salutes his hind legs 
with vigorous bites. This keeps the animal oscilla- 
ting between several distinct parties of foes ; and while 



494 PROGRESS OF ABOTIO DISCOVEBY. 

he is battling with one and the other, the hunters 
come up. In the first instance, as soon as the bear 
sees the approach of the dogs and men, he rises on 
his haunches, carefully inspects his foes for a mo- 
ment, and then takes to his heels. As the hunter ap- 
proaches him, if he is riding on his sledge he loosens 
the traces of his two foremost dogs, which releases 
them from their burden, and enables them to attack 
the bear. Soon after, the rest of the dogs are libera- 
ted in the same way. When there are two hunters, 
bruin is soon and easily dispatched. They surround 
him, and while one of them pretends to stab him with 
a spear on the right side, and thus engages the bear 
in his defense in that direction, the death wound is 
inflicted on the left by the same weapon. If there 
be but one hunter, the task is neither so easy nor so 
safe. The hunter grasps his lance firmly in his hands, 
and provokes the bear to pursue him by running 
across his path, and then pretending to flee. When 
the bear has begun the chase, the hunter suddenly 
doubles on his track by a dexterous leap ; and while 
the bear is in the act of turning around, he is stabbed 
with the spear in his left side below the shoulder. 
If this stab be skillfully executed, the bear is at once 
disabled and soon expires. If it is not, the hunter 
has then to run for his life, after leaving his spear 
sticking in the side of his victim. If the bear gets 
the hunter in his grasp, he salutes him with divers 
hugs and squeezes, which are much more vigorous 
and affectionate than agreeable. He sometimes also 
uses his teeth. Dr. Kane saw some Esquimaux hun- 
ters who had been bitten behind in the calves of the 
legs ; and another who had received a similar salute 
somewhat higher up. 

Having returned to the brig. Dr. Kane resumed 
his preparations for final departure. Frozen fast as 
she was in the ice, there was no possibility of remov- 
ing her. The only possible means of escape was by 
the combined use of boats and sledges. The partv 



DB. kane's expedition. 496 

weut to work industriously in the manufacture of 
clothing suitable to the journey. Canvas moccasins 
were made for each of the party, and a surplus sup- 
ply of three dozen was added to the stock. Their 
boots were made of carpeting, with soles of walrus or 
seal hide, and some had been fabricated from the 
chafing gear of the brig. Other portions of their 
clothing were made out of blankets. Every one act- 
ed as his own tailor. Their bedding was made out 
of the woolen curtains with which their berths in the 
brig had been adorned. These were quilted with 
eider down, and buffalo robes were added to increase 
their warmth. 

Their provision bags consisted of sail-cloth, made 
water-tight by the application of tar and pitch. They 
were of various sizes, so as to be more conveniently 
stowed away in the boats. The ship-bread was pow- 
dered by being beaten with a capstan-bar, and then 
pressed down into the bags. Pork-fat and tallow 
being melted down, were poured into other bags as 
into moulds, and thus left to freeze. Concentrated 
bean-soup was cooked up and prepared in the same 
way. The flour and meat-biscwit were protected 
from moisture in double bags. Dr. Kane's plan was 
to subsist his party for some time after they left the 
brig, by new supplies of provisions which he could 
bring from the vessel by trips with his dog-team. 

The means of conveyance which were to carry the 
comp)any on this long and weary journey, and which 
were to be carried by them in a great measure, con- 
sisted of three boats. These had all suffered very 
materially from exposure to the ice and the Arctic 
storms ; and were scarcely sea-worthy. They were 
strengthened and tinkered in every possible way by 
oak bottom-pieces, and by wash-boards which protect- 
ed the gunwales and gave them greater depth. A 
housing of canvas was stretched upon a ridge line, 
which was suspended by stanchions, and which were 
fastened over the sides of the boats to jack-stays. 



4:96 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Each boat had a single mast, and it was so arranged 
that it could be easily unshipped, and carried along- 
side the boat. The boats were mounted on sledges. 
The provisions were stored carefully under the thwarts. 
The boats were to be drawn by the men with rue-rad- 
dies, or straps, which passed over the shoulder and 
were attached by a long trace to the sledge. The 
philosophical instruments were carefully boxed and 
padded, and placed in the stern-sheets of one of the 
boats. Spy-glasses and small instruments the trav- 
elers carried on their persons. The powder and shot, 
which now became of infinite value to them, were dis- 
tributed in bags and tin canisters. The percussion 
caps, the most valuable of all, Dr. Kane himself took 
charge of and reserved. 

Having made all the preparations which were pos- 
sible under the circumstances of the case. Dr. Kane 
announced to his crew that ho appointed the ITth of 
May as the day of their final departure from the brig. 
Each man was allowed to select and retain eight 
pounds of personal effects. The announcement of 
their final departure toward the south was not received 
by the members of the expedition with the enthusiasm 
which Dr. Kane had expected. Some doubted the 
reality of the journey home ; and suspected that it 
was merely a maneuver to remove the sick to the 
hunting grounds. Others thought that the real pur- 
pose was only to journey further south, whilst the 
brig was retained as a refuge for them to retreat to ; 
while others suspected that their leader merely 
wished to reach some point on the coast where he 
could obtain a rescue from passing whalers, or from 
some of the English Arctic expeditions which were 
still supposed to be lingering in those remote regions. 
The sick among the crew, who had long been accus- 
tomed to inaction and indulgence, declared themselves 
unfit to be removed, and unable to travel a mile. 

But in spite of all these obstacles, the resolution of 
the commander of the expedition was unalterable. 



DB. kane's expedition. 497 

He was determined to commence this memorable 
journey on the day appointed, at all hazards. At 
length the day preceding that of departure arrived. 
The boats were removed from the brig and placed 
upon the ice. This process seemed to revive to some 
degree the desponding spirits of the men. The pro- 
visions were then conveyed into them ; and other 
necessary transfers were made. After some hours of 
active operations, the whole of their task was com- 
pleted ; and the men returned on board the brig, in 
order to spend their last night in that familiar 
shelter. After supper they retired to rest, in order to 
recruit their energies for the toils which were to com- 
mence on the ensuing day, upon the final success of 
which their future existence depended. 

At length the wished-for moment arrived when the 
weary adventurers were to take their last farewell of 
the vessel which had been associated with them in 
so many vicissitudes and dangers. All hands were 
assembled together in silence in the winter chamber. 
The day was Sunday, and the exercises began by the 
reading of a chapter of the scriptures. Dr. Kane 
then took Sir John Franklin's portrait from its frame, 
and enclosed it in an ludia-rubber scroll. The sev- 
eral reports of inspection and survey were then read, 
which set forth what results had already been attained, 
and contained the reasons which induced the com- 
mander of the expedition to take the steps which 
were to ensue. He then addressed his men in refer- 
ence to the journey on which they were about to en- 
ter, explaining its necessity, the method according to 
which it was to be conducted, and the certainty of 
final relief and escape which it would bring them, if 
they resolutely persisted in carrying it out. Thirteen 
iiundred miles of ice and water lay between their 
present position and the shores of North Greenland. 
He closed by directing their hopes of safety, not un- 
fitly, to that great Unseen Power who had already 
rescued them from a thousand deaths, and who would 



4:98 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

continue to be their very present help in every time 
of need. 

The men responded to the sentiments and purposes 
expressed by Dr. Kane with more enthusiasm than 
he seems to have anticipated. They drew up a state- 
ment in which they expressed their conviction of the 
necessity which existed of abandoning the brig; the 
impossibility of remaining a third winter in the ice ; 
the obligation which rested on them to convey the 
sick carefully along with them ; and their determina- 
tion to cooperate with their leader in his proposed 
measures of escape. This statement was handed to 
Dr. Kane. He also had prepared a narrative of the 
considerations which induced him to abandon the ves- 
sel. This he posted to a stanchion near the gangway, 
so that it might attract the attention of any one who 
approached the vessel. The party then went on deck ; 
the flags were hoisted to the mast-head, and lowereo 
again; the men paraded twice around the brig, care- 
fully scrutinizing her timbers, associated in their 
minds with so many pleasing and painful recollec- 
tions ; and having thus saluted the vessel for the last 
time, they rushed away over the ice toward the boats, 
which had already been removed, filled with their 
cargo, and made ready to commence their homeward 
journey. 

The whole return party consisted of seventeen per- 
sons, including Dr. Kane. Four of these were sick, 
and unable to move. The rest were divided into two 
companies, and appropriated to the several boats. 
Dr. Kane took charge of the dog-team, which was to 
be used for the purpose of conveying provisions from 
the vessel to the crew, during the first few days of * 
their journey. To the boat called "Faith," McGary, 
Ohlsen, Bonsall, Petersen, and Hickey were assigned. 
To the " Hope," Morton, Sontag, Eiley, Blake, and 
Godfrey were detailed. 

The first stage of the journey was to a spot called 
Ancatok, which had been a halting place in their win- 



DB. i^Aim'S EXPEDITION. 4:90 

ter journeys. It was a single hut, composed of rude 
and heavy stones, and resembled a cave more than 
it did a house. Strange to say, this bleak and for- 
lorn corner of that frozen hemisphere, the gloomiest 
and most detestable on the whole face of tne globe, 
bore a name which was imposed by the least poeti- 
cal of human beings, the Esquimaux, which was not 
devoid of beauty ; for Anoatok in the jargon of the 
shivering natives means " the wind-loved spot." It 
was perched on the extreme point ol a rocky promon- 
tory, and commanded a wide view of the icy straits, 
both toward the north and south. 

Dr. Kane had exerted himself to repair the hut, and 
make it fit to shelter the sick. He had added a door 
to its broken outlet, and had introduced a stove and 
stove-pipe. Other improvements had been made. 
A solitary pane of glass, which once had faced a 
daguerreotype, was inserted in the door, to give a 
scanty light. The provisions which had been re- 
moved to this place were eight hundred pounds in 
weight. Seven hundred pounds still remained in the 
brig, to be removed by successive journeys of the 
dog-team. The services of these six dogs were in- 
deed invaluable. In addition to all their previous 
journejs, they carried Dr. Kane to and fro, with a 
well-burdened sledge, nearly eight hundred miles du- 
ring the first two weeks after they left the brig, be- 
ing an average of fifty-seven miles per day. 

So feeble and reduced were the parties who drag- 
ged the two boats, that they advanced but a mile a 
day, and on the 24th had only made seven miles. 
The halts were regulated entirely by the condition 
of the men who required longer rest at some periods 
than at others. The thermometer ranged below zero, 
and the men slept at night in the boats, protected by 
their canvas coverings. Had it not been for the 
shelter which the hut at Anoatok afforded, the four 
Bick men — Goodfellow, Wilson, Whipple, and Ste- 
phenson — they must have perished. At the time of 



500 PROGRESS OF AROTIO DISCOVERT. 

their removal into it, they were so drawn up with the 
scurvy that they were wholly unable to move. Yet 
their delay in this liut was extremely gloomy ; for 
it lasted from the time that they were removed from 
the brig, until they were carried forward by the 
sledge to the boats which had been dragged by their 
respective crews in advance of tliem. During this 
interval they were carefully fed and attended by Dr. 
Kane. 

Dr. Kane's visits to the brig from time to time, in 
order to obtain supplies of provisions, were full of in- 
terest to him. On the first of these he found the ves- 
sel already inhabited by an old raven, which had often 
been seen hovering around, and whom they had called 
Magog. The fire was lighted in the galley, the pork 
was melted, large batches of bread were baked, dried 
apples were stewed, and then the sledge was made 
ready to return with the load. Such was usually the 
routine of Dr. Kane's lonely visits to the brig. Af 
ter the first of these visits, when he returned to the 
" wind-loved spot," Anoatok, with his sledge, he found 
that the sick who still remained there had exhausted 
their provisions ; that their single lamp had gone out ; 
that the snow drifts had forced their way in at the 
door, so that it could not be shut ; that the wind was 
blowing furiously through the open tenement ; and 
that the thermometer ranged only thirteen degrees 
above zero. The invalids were disheartened and hun- 
gry. A hre was built with tarred rope; a porridge 
was prepared for them out of meat biscuit and pea 
soup ; the door was fastened up ; a dripping slab of 
fat pork was suspended over their lamp wick ; and 
then all turned into their sleeping bags, after a hearty 
though not very savory meal. So overcome were 
they all with exposure and weakness, that they slept 
until after all their watches had run down. 

Dr. Kane then hurried forward to the sledge party, 
who had by that time reached Ten Mile Itavine. 
They were struggling with the deep snows, v/ere over 



DR. kane's expedition. 501 

whelmed with fatigue, and were somewhat disheart- 
ened. Although their feet were much swollen, they 
had toiled that day for fourteen hours. Some were 
suffering from snow-blindness, and were scarcely 
able to work at the drag-ropes. In spite of all their 
toils and sufferings, morning and evening prayers 
were constantly read by the adventurers. Meanwhile 
the sledge party advanced slowly toward the south. 
On the 28th Dr. Kane paid his last visit to the brig. 
He was compelled to leave behind his collections in 
Natural History, his library, and some of his instru- 
ments, such as his theodolite and chart-box, the 
useless daguerrotypes, and other companions and 
mementoes of Arctic toil and suffering. Then he 
mounted his sledge ; gave a last look at the blackened 
hull and spars of the Advance; fiercely whipped up 
his dogs in a paroxysm of mournful gloom ; and 
sped away for the last time, over the snowy waste 
which had been associated with so many recoUec- « 
tions. Thus was left behind at last in its frozen bed, 
the vessel which had been connected with two Arctic 
expeditions, one of which is the most remarkable on 
record ; and there doubtless she remains, an unseen 
monument of human enterprise, benevolence, and 
endurance. 

From Anoatok Dr. Kane's next labor was to re- 
move the provisions and men further on in their route. 
A friendly Esquimaux, named*Metek, was sent for- 
ward to the next station, with two bags of bread-dust, 
each weighing ninety pounds. The next station was 
Etah Bay. About midnight Dr. Kane approached 
that vicinity. The sun was low in the heavens, and 
the air around was marked by that peculiar stillness 
which accompanies the great solitudes of nature. 
While feeling the oppressive weight of that silence, 
his ears were suddenly greeted by unexpected sounds 
of mirth and laughter. He had approached an en- 
campment of the wandering Esquimaux, consisting 
of about'thirty men, women, and children. The cause 



602 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

of tbeir joy was the capture of innumerable birds 
called Auks, which they were engaged in catching 
with nets. These birds, though the thermometer was 
five degrees below zero, were nying about in the great- 
est abundance ; and the hungry Esquimaux were 
eating them raw, as soon as taken. He saw two chil- 
dren fighting for an owl, which as soon as captured 
was torn limb from limb, and its v/arm flesh eaten, 
and its blood drunken, almost before life was extinct. 
This was the spot which these birds mysteriously 
chose for the purpose of breeding, from year to year; 
and the Esquimaux as regularly found their way 
thither in pursuit of them. 

The travelers continued their weary march through 
the snow, dragging their boats after them. Some- 
times, when the weather moderated — for it was sum- 
mer — the sledges broke through. Six men on one 
occasion were thrown into the water ; and the ^' Hope " 
was very nearlv lost. Help came to them from the 
Esquimaux at fitah, who sent them the loan of their 
dogs, together with an additional supply of fresh pro- 
visions. The dogs were of infinite service in drawing 
one of the sledges, upon which the sick men were con- 
veyed. At this period an accident deprived the ex- 
pedition by death of one of its most useful members. 
While crossing a tide-hole, one of the runners of the 
" Hope " sledge broke through the ice. Tlie energy 
and presence of mind of Christian Ohlsen alone saved 
her from being lost. By a prodigious efibrt he passed 
a capstan-bar under the sledge, and thus sustained its 
weight until it was dragged forward to firm ice. In 
doing this his footing gave way beneath him ; and he 
thus was compelled to strain himself. The eflfort 
ruined him. Some internal injury had been inflicted 
by the effort ; and he died three days afterward. His 
body was sewed up in his own blankets, and carried 
in procession to the head of a little gorge to the east 
of Pekiutlik, where a grave was excavated in the 
frozen earth. There his body was deposited with a 



DE. Kane's expeditiok. 603 

few simple and appropriate ceremonies. His name 
and age were inscribed by the commander on a strip 
of sheet lead ; and ere his grave was filled by his 
comrades, the brief and touching memorial was laid 
upon his manly breast. A small mound was then 
erected with rocks and stones over his lonely resting 
place ; and there now sleep, in that cheerless and win 
try tomb, the remains of Christian Ohlsen. 

By the 6th of June the party reached Littleton 
Island. From a lofty height here of some eight hun- 
dred feet, Dr. Kane obtained his first view of the 
open water. His position at that time was 78° 22' 1' 
latitude, and 74° 10' longitude. So weary were the men 
of dragging the sledges over the snow and ice, that 
they wished to take the direct route to the water, 
upon which they were eager to embark with the 
boats. But the dangers of the plan proposed over- 
ruled their wishes, and the inland route, though longer, 
was selected. The wished-for water which greeted 
the eyes of the weary travelers, was Hartstein Bay ; 
and they welcomed it with emotions of rapture re- 
sembling those which, as Xenophon records, filled the 
minds and excited the enthusiasm of the ten thousand 
Greeks when, after their long and perilous march 
through Asia Minor, and their escape from the myr- 
iads of Artaxerxes, they first beheld the distant 
waves of the sea whose billows laved the shores of 
their beloved Greece. 

On the 16th of June the party reached the water. 
It was at the northern curve of the North Baffin Bay. 
The surf roared sublimely in their ears, and sounded 
like sweet music after their long and cheerless absence 
from its bosom. The next thing to be done was to 
prepare the boats for the difficult navigation which 
was to ensue. They were not sea-worthy. They had 
been split with frost, warped by the sunshine, and 
were open at the seams. They were to be calked, 
swelled, launched, and stowed. On the 18th the 
travelers Were surrounded by all the Esquimaux who 



504 PBOGRKSS OF AKCTIO DISCOTERY. 

had been assembled at Etah. They had come to bid 
the strangers farewell, whom they had served to the 
best of their ability at an earlier stage of their jour 
ney. They were indeed a miserable and forlorn race, 
though kindly and confiding in their dispositions. 
They received various presents and keepsakes from 
the travelers — such as knives, files, saws, and lumps 
of soap. They had been of great service in lending 
hand-sledges and dogs ; in helping to carry baggage 
and the sick from one station to another, along their 
weary route ; and they parted from the strangers — 
probably the last they were destined ever to behold 
in that repulsive clime — with feelings of regret 
which they did not conceal. Dr. Kane urged them 
to emigrate further south ; for there they could ob- 
tain more abundant food, and escape the perils of 
starvation which constantly surrounded them. 

On the evening of Sunday, June 17th, the party 
hauled their boats through the hummocks, reached 
the open sea, and launched their frail craft upon its 
waters. But Eolus seemed determined not to per- 
mit them yet to embark ; for he let loose his fiercest 
winds, which began to dash a heavy wind-Upper 
agains.t the ice-floe, and obliged the party to re- 
move their boats back with each new breakage of the 
ice. The goods which had been stacked upon the ice 
were conveyed further inward to the distance of sev- 
eral hundred yards. The storm continued to rage, 
and to forbid them to venture on the treacherous ele- 
ment. At last Dr. Kane saw the necessity of per- 
mitting the worn-out men to repose, and in order to 
do so securely, the boats were removed a mile from 
the water's edge. The sea tore up the ice to the very 
base of the berg to which they had fled for refuge, 
and the angry deep seemed like a vast cauldron, boil- 
ing with intense fury, while the immense fragmenta 
of ice crashed and rolled together with a sound re- 
eembling thunder. 

At length the storm subsided, and the troubled sea 



DB. Kane's expedition. 606 

became tranquil. The boats were again prepared for 
embarkation. On Tuesday, the 19th, Dr. Kane suc- 
ceeded in getting the Faith afloat, and he was soon 
followed by the two other boats. Soon the wind 
freshened, and the mariners began their welcome 
progress homeward ; but they had a long and perilous 
voyage before them of many hundred miles. At 
length they doubled Cape Alexander. They desired 
first to halt at Sutherland Island ; but the ice-belt 
which hugged its shores was too steep to permit them 
to land. Ihey then steered for Hakluyt Island, but 
had not proceeded far before the red boat swamped. 
The crew were compelled to swim to the other boats ; 
and the former was with difficulty kept afloat, and 
dragged in tow by her comrades. Dr. Kane then 
fastened his boats to an old floe ; and thus sheltered, 
the men obtained their second halt and rest. When 
they had become somewhat refreshed, they rowed for 
Hakluyt Island, at a point less repulsive and imprac- 
ticable than the one attempted the day before. A 
spit to the southward gave them an opportunity to 
haul up the boats on the land-ice, as the tide rose. 
From this the men dragged the boats to the rocks 
above and inland ; and were thus secure. It snowed 
heavily during the ensuing night. A tent was pre- 
pared for the sick ; and a few birds were luckily ob- 
tained to vary their stale diet of bread-dust and tallow. 

On the next morning, the 22d, the snow storm 
still continued to pelt them ; but they pressed on- 
ward toward Northumberland Island, and reached 
it. They rowed their boats into a small inlet of open 
water, wnich conducted them to the beach directly 
beneath a hanging glacier which towered sublimely 
into the heavens to the immense height of eleven 
hundred feet. 

The next day they crossed Murchison Channel, and 
at night encamped at the base of Cape Parry. The 
day had been laboriously spent in tracking over the 
ice, and in sailing through tortuous leads. The day 

32 



506 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

following tliey reach ed Fitz Clarence Hock ; one of 
the most singular forms to be seen in that strange 
clime. It rises to an immense height from a vast 
field of ice, having the shape of an JEgyptian pyra- 
mid surmounted by an obelisk. In more frequented 
waters it would be a valued landmark to the 
navigator. 

Still they continued to toil onward from day to day. 
Their progress was satisfactory, though their labor 
was exhausting. Dr. Kane sometimes continued six- 
teen hours in succession at the helm. But now their 
allowance of food began to grow scanty. It was 
reduced to six ounces of bread-dust per day, and a 
lump of tallow about the size of a walnut. An occa- 
sional cup of tea was their only consolation. From 
this stage in their journey Dairy mple Rock became 
perceptible in the distance. But the physical strength 
of the men began to give way beneath their labors 
and their insujfficient diet. At this crisis a gale struck 
them from the north-west, and a floe, one end of 
which having grounded on a tongue of ice about a 
mile to the northward of them, began to swing round to- 
ward the boats, and threaten to enclose and crush them. 
Soon the destruction of the surrounding ice threatened 
their own. For hundreds of yards on every side around 
them the ice was crumbled, crushed, and piled in irreg- 
ular and fragmentary masses. The thunder of the con- 
fused ocean of frozen wrecks was overpowering. Sud- 
denly the ice seemed to separate and form a channel ; 
and in that channel, so unexpectedly opened before 
them, the men rowed the boats with the aid of their 
boat hooks, and escaped n danger which a moment 
before seemed inevitable and ruinous. Soon they 
found themselves in a lead of land-water, wide enough 
to give them row^ing room, and they hastened on to 
the land, which loomed ahead. Keaching it, they 
eagerly sought a shelter. The Hope here stove her 
bottom, and lost part of her weather-boarding. The 
water broke over them, for the storm still continued 



DR. kane's expedition. 507 

At length the cide rose high enough at three o'clock 
to enable them to scale the ice-clifL Thej^ succeeded 
in pulling the boats into a deep and narrow gorge, 
which opened between the towering cliffs. The rocks 
seemed almost to close above their heads. An ab- 
rupt curve in the windings of this gorge placed a pro- 
tecting rock behind them, which shielded them from 
the violence of the winds and waves. They had reached 
a haven of refuge which was almost a cave ; where they 
found a flock of eider ducks on which they feasted ; and 
where for three days they reposed from the dangers 
and labors of their voyage. This retreat they fitly 
called Weary Man's Rest. 

The fourth day of July having arrived, it was com- 
memorated by the adventurers by a few diluted and 
moderate potations, such as their nearly exhausted 
whisky flask permitted ; and they then embarked 
and rowed industriously toward WoLstenholme Island. 
During some succeeding days, they continued slowly 
to progress toward the south, through the various lanes 
of water which opened between the belt-ice and the 
floe. By this time, the constant collisions between 
the boats and the floating ice had rendered them quite 
unsea worthy. The ice had strained their bottom tim- 
bers, and constant baling was necessary. Their fresh 
meat had all been consumed, and the men were now 
reduced again to short rations of bread-dust. 

On the 11th of July they approached Cape Dudley 
Digges ; but their progress was suddenly stopped by 
an immense tongue of floe which extended out to sea 
for a prodigious distance. They forced their way 
into a lead of sludge, and attempted thus to advance. 
They found this to be impossible ; and were glad to 
make their escape from it. Dr. Kane was at a loss 
how to proceed. He mounted an ice-berg to recon- 
noiter the surrounding prospect. It was gloomy and 
repulsive in the extreme. They were in advance of 
the season ; and he discovered that in those waters 
toward Cape York, the floes had not yet broken up 



508 PROGRESS OF AROTIO DISCOVERT. 

They seemed to be surrounded in a cul-de-sae^ with 
exhausted strength and food, and no possibility of es- 
caping until the summer had broken open for them a 
pathway of escape through the water. 

Dr. feane resolved to steer for the rocky shore. 
Above a narrow ledge of lofty cliffs mounted one 
over the other to the prodigious height of eleven hun- 
dred feet. The waves dashed violently against that 
ledge ; but still it afforded a shelter to the boats. 
Here they were for the present again deposited ; and 
fortunately a quantity of gulls were found in the crevi- 
ces of the rocks, which afforded the famished wander- 
ers nutricious food. The glacier which stretched 
away in front of them was about seven miles across. 
On ascending the heights above him, Dr. Kane en- 
joyed a magnificent prospect of the frozen ocean, the 
rrh&r-de-glaGe^ whose glittering surface spread out be- 
fore and around him. A vast undulating plain of 
purple-colored ice appeared, extending to the limits 
of the horizon, resplendent with the varied hues of 
sun-tipped crystal. This spot, where the wanderers 
enjoyed so welcome a repose, such nutricious food, 
and such sublime perspective, they named Providence 
Halt. Here they remained till the 18th of July. 

In resuming their voyage from this point, they en- 
countered an accident which might have proved very 
serious. When they launched the Hope, she was pre- 
cipitated into the sludge in such a manner as to carry 
away her rail and bulwark. They lost overboard their 
best shot-gun, and an equally indispensable utensil, 
their kettle which had served them in every possible 
capacity of kettle — such as soup-kettle, paste-kettle, 
tea-kettle, and water-kettle. Sailing along they parsed 
the Crimson Cliffs, so named by Sir John Ross. They 
continued thence to hug the shore. The weather 
now moderated ; and their voyage assumed more 
agreeable and genial features. The men frequently 
landed, climbed up the steep cliffs and obtained 
abundant quantities of auks. Fires weie kindled 



DE. kane'b expedition. 509 

with the turf, and the feasts which ensued wei e rel- 
ished with more than an ordinary appetite ; and that 
also the more truly, because the travelers well knew 
that their good fortune, and their propitious seas and 
weather, would not long continue. They were now 
in 78° 20' north latitude. 

On the 21st of June they reached Cape York. 
Their provisions had now diminished to six hundred 
and forty pounds, or about thirty-six pounds to each 
man. The question to be determined, was, whether 
they should delay where they then were for some 
days until the snore-ice opened ; or whether they 
should desert the coast and venture boldly upon the 
open water to the west. Dr. Kane ascended the 
rocks upon the shore, and by the aid of his glass care- 
fully scrutinized the ice. The latter could be seen 
immoveably fixed to the shore in nearly an unbroken 
sweep far beyond Bushnell Island. The outside floes 
were large ; and one large lead appeared to the view 
which seemed to follow the main noe until it was lost 
to seaward. 

Dr. Kane explained to his men the motives which 
induced him to adopt the course upon which he had 
determined. The boats were then hauled on shore, 
examined, and repaired. One of these, the Red Erie, 
was stripped of her cargo and prepared to be broken 
up as soon as occasion should require. A beacon was 
also erected on an eminence, which could be dis- 
cerned both from the south and the west, surmounted 
by a red flannel shirt. Under the cairn was deposit- 
ed a short narrative of the condition and purposes of 
the party. They then resumed their voyage steering 
south by west through the ice-fields. For a while 
they progressed safely enough. But soon the irregu- 
liarities of the surface, loaded as it was by hummocks 
and even larger masses, made it diflicult to discern 
the state of the ice in the distance. At length they 
lost their way ; the officer at the helm of the leading 
boat deceived by the irregular shape of a large ice- 



510 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 

berg, had deserted the proper lead, and had steered 
far out of the true course. 

Dr. Kane at once ordered a halt, and ascending an 
ice-berg some three hundred feet in height, he sur- 
veyed the prospect. It was by no means encoura- 
fing. They had advanced into the recesses of the 
ay, and were surrounded on all sides by immense 
ice-bergs and floating ice. So dismal appeared their 
situation that one of the sturdiest members of the ex- 
pedition, who accompanied the commander in his sur- 
vey, burst into tears at the sadness of their situation. 

There was but one means of deliverance, and that 
it behooved them to adopt instantly. They must re- 
sume their sledges and retrace their way to the west- 
ward. One sledge had already been cut up for fire- 
wood. The boat Red Erie now shared the same fate ; 
and was laid upon the floor of the other boats. Three 
days of hard dragging over the ice ensued ; at the 
end of which time they regained the ice-berg which 
had misled them in the first instance, and had induced 
them to take a course which had nearly ended in their 
ruin. From this point made easier by experience, 
they steered in the right direction into a free lead, 
and were wafted onward by a friendly breeze from 
the north. 

Another trouble now assailed the travelers, not less 
important than the one they had just escaped. Their 
provisions had fearfully diminished, and yet they were 
hundreds of miles distant from the nearest Danish 
settlement of Greenland. Their strength diminished 
in proportion with their food. The latter had become 
80 much lessened, that five ounces of bread-dust, four 
ounces of tallow, and three of bird's meat, were all 
that could be thenceforward allowed each man per 
day. The commander now determined to try the 
more open sea, as their progress along the coast had 
been retarded by its sinuosities. During. two days 
heavy fogs impeded their rapid advance. A soudi- 
westerly wiod brought the outside pack upon them^ 



DE. KANE^S EXPEDITION. 511 

and compelled them to haul up on the drifting ice. 
By this means they were drifted with it twenty miles 
away from their proper course. The labors and toils 
of the party were extreme and exhausting ; and yet 
they manfully kept up their spirits. 

A strange phenomenon now showed itself among 
them ; and one too of ominous import. Though 
worked excessively they yet felt no hunger. They 
also seemed to lose their physical strength. The 
" Faith " also very nearly escaped destruction, by be- 
ing left behind for a short time. The outside pressure 
had broken the floe asunder, and the Faith began to 
float away from them. Her loss would have entailed 
that of a large portion of the scanty provisions which 
they still possessed ; and would have inevitably 
sealed their ruin. By the utmost exertions of the 
men, some of whom seemed nearly thrown into hys- 
terics by her threatened loss, she was again secured. 

The situation of the voyagers continued to become 
more critical. They experienced a difficulty in breath- 
ing, and an inability to sleep. Their line of travel 
lay through the open bay, in the midst of the great 
ice-drift which hurried from the Arctic climes into 
the Atlantic ocean. Their boats were frail and shat- 
tered, and constantly made enough water to require 
their utmost exertions in bailing, in order to keep 
them afloat. Their fresh food had been exhausted 
for some days ; and they suftered from a low fever 
which prostrated them to the utmost. 

At this point of their progress they happily killed 
a seal which they discovered on a small patch of ice. 
The first sight of it created the utmost enthusiasm 
among the men. As the boats silently approached 
him and before they were within rifle shot, the seal 
raised his head, surveyed the strangers, and was pre- 
paring to dive into the water. The best marksman 
of the company with their best rifle, had just drawn 
sight upon the seal ; and the lives of the whole party 
may be said to have depended on the success of the 



512 PROGRESS OF ABOTIG E18C0VEEY. 

shot. A moment of breathless anxiety ensued 5 but 
the skill of Petersen prevailed. At the instant the 
crack of the rifle was heard the seal relaxed his long 
body, and his head fell flat on the ice upon its utmost 
verge. With a loud yell the famished men urged 
forward the boat with their utmost strength. When 
they reached the ice they rushed over it, laughing, 
crying, and l)randishing their knives. The unhappy 
seal was cut into strips before he had fairly time to 
expire ; and was gorging the men with his raw re- 
mains. ISTot a single ounce was lost ; the intestines 
even, were boiled in the soup-kettle ; and the carti- 
laginous flippers were distributed and chewed to 
pieces with the utmost relish. 

This opportune supply of fresh food saved the lives 
of the party. Their mental and physical health was 
restored. Several days afterward they killed another 
seal, and thus each one retained a mens sana in sano 
cor^ore. On the 1st of August they came within sight 
of the Devil's Thumb, and were no longer wanderers 
in unknown regions ; but were within the limits of 
the district frequented by the whalers. Soon they 
reached the Duck Islands. At length they passed 
Cape Shackleton, and then steered for the shore of 
Greenland. 

Their long voyage with its infinite anxieties and 
toils — their perilous adventures amid cheerless conti- 
nents of ice — their narrow escapes from the moun- 
tainous ice-bergs — their sufferings from cold, hunger, 
and disease — their apprehensions of an unknown 
grave in the solitudes of the Arctic realms — their 
doubts of a final happy escape from the innumerable 
perils, and of their welcome vision of their native land 
and the firesides of their former years — all these now 
terminated in eventual triumph and escape. They 
now shaped the course directly toward the shores of 
Greenland, which clearly loomed up in their distant 
horizon. Next day they met the first inhabitant of 
that world from which they had been so long shut 



m 



DR. kane's expedition. 613 

out. It was a Greenlander who, in his small canoe 
or kayak, was seeking eider down among the islands 
which stud the coast. They hailed him. One of the 
men, Petersen, knew him. It was Paul Trocharias. 
" Don't you know me ? " enquired Petersen, as the 
boats approached. "I'm Carl Petersen." "No," 
answered the Greenlander, "his wife says he is 
dead ; " and with this response he rowed away from 
them. 

During two days longer they continued to follow 
the coast, sailing southward. At the end of this time 
they discerned the single mast of a small shallop, and 
heard words of mingled English and Danish from the 
sailors on board of her. "They soon discerned that 
it was the Upernavick oil-boat on its way to Kingatok 
to obtain blubber. The annual ship had arrived from 
Copenhagen at Proven ; and this was one of the boats 
which supplied lier with a cargo of oil. From the 
sailors, on board the shallop, Dr. Kane first received 
information of the great events which, during his ab- 
scence had agitated the world to which he had been 
so long a stranger ; how England and France had com- 
bined with the Turk to liumble the haughty pride of 
the imperial Romanoff; and how vast armies were 
then engaged in mortal strife on the once quiet and 
fertile plains of the Crimea. For the first time he 
learned the importance which Sebastopol had ac- 
quired in the history and fate of the world, sur- 
rounded as it then was with a battling host of a hun- 
dred thousand men. 

They rowed on. Soon K^arsoak, the snow-capped 
summit of Sanderson's Hope appeard to them, tower- 
ing above the mists ; and as they approached the 
welome harbor of Upernavick, from wnich they had 
issued several years before in the gallant vessel they 
had now left behind them, they felt as only such men 
under such circumstances could feel. During eighty- 
four days they had lived in the open air, tossing in 
frail boats on the bosom of the angry, half-frozen 

V 



514 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

deep. They were delivered from a thousand deathfc; 
and arrived at last safely at Upernavick, where they 
were received with hospitality by the charitable 
Danes, who inhabit that lonely and cheerless outpori 
of the civilized world. 

Dr. Kane resolved to embark his party in the Dan- 
ish vessel the Mariane, which sailed on the 6th of 
September for the Shetland Islands. They took with 
them their little boat the Faith, which had accom- 
panied them through so many adventures. They only 
retained their clothes and documents, of all they had 
once possessed on board the Advance. On the 11th 
they arrived at Godhaven, where they found their for- 
mer friend Mr. Olrik, the Danish Inspector of North 
Greenland. Here Dr. Kane first heard of the squad- 
ron under Captain Hartstene, which had been sent 
out from the United States in pursuit of him, and 
learned that it had touched at that spot. 

This squadron consisted of two vessels, the United 
States barque "Kelease,'' and the United States steam- 
brig "Arctic." They had sailed from !N"ew York in 
June 1855, and on the 9th of July they were at 
Lievely on the coast of Greenland. On that day they 
resumed their search after the party of Dr. Kane, and 
sailed for Waigat Strait, intending to touch at Uper- 
navick for information. From Upernavick both vessels 
stood northward. They soon met the floating ice 
drifting down ; but they persisted in advancing, and 
thus worked along for forty miles to Wedge Island. 
Here they were compelled to moor themselves to the 
bergs, and await the opening of the ice, which had be- 
come so compact as to render their immediate ad- 
vance impossible. After several days the ice opened, 
and enabled them to proceed. They then steamed to 
Sugar Loaf Island, and entered the closely packed 
iioe of Melville Bay. By the 13th of August they 
had forced a passage into the North "Water, after 
twenty-eight days of laborious sailing. They then 
passed Cape York and Wolstenholme Island. Here 



D». kake's expedition. 516 

hastening on in the steamer, Captain Hartstene visited 
Cape Alexander and Southerland Island. These 
points were beyond the reach of the Esquimaux, and 
might probably contain traces of Dr. Kane's party. 
Tliey were thoroughly searched ; but no evidence ap- 
peared that any human foot had ever invaded those 
frozen solitudes. Thence they advanced to Pelham 
Point, where they observed a few stones piled together. 
A party landed here, and beneath this rude monument 
they discovered a small vial with the letter K. cut in 
the cork. The vial contained a large musquito, and 
a small piece of cartridge paper, on which was written 
" Dt. Kme, 1853." 

This discovery induced Captain Hartstene to push 
further north. The ice however soon stopped his 
progress ; and drifting southward with the current, 
ne examined Cape Hotturton and Littleton Island. 
But no trace of Dr. Kane was found, though in a for- 
mer letter to his brother, he had expressed his inten- 
tion to erect a cairn on one of these localities. Fif- 
teen miles north-west of Cape Alexander they discov- 
ered a party of Esquimaux, who, three miles distant 
on the Greenland shore, had a temporary settlement 
of seven tents, inhabited by thirty persons. Here 
Captain Hartstene found many articles which had be- 
longed to Dr. Kane's party, and which had been left 
behind ; such as tin pans and pots, canvas and iron 
spikes, as well as the tube of a telescope which was 
recognized as having belonged to Dr. Kane. 

Captain Hartstene closely interrogated the Esqui- 
maux as to their knowledge of the missing company. 
From them he learned that Dr. Kane, having lost his 
vessel somewhere in the ice to the northward, had 
been at that point with two boats and a sled, and af- 
ter remaining there ten days had proceeded, south- 
ward toward Upernavick. W ith such conclusive evi- 
dence before him Captain Hartstene also determined 
to return southward. He touched at Cape Alexander, 
Sutherland Islands, and Hakluyt Island. Thenc© ht» 



516 PEOGEESS OF AEOtIO DISCO VEEY. 

steered for the entrance of Lancaster Sound, and ex- 
amined the coast between Cape Horshiirg and Cape 
Warrander. After passing Cape Bullin he found the 
ice firmly packed, and the vessels seemed frozen into 
their winter quarters. But after twenty-four hours 
spent in a laborious attempt to batter their way 
through the ice they succeeded ; and after thus ma- 
king tne circuit of nearly the whole northern part of 
Baffin's Bay, they returned toward Possession and 
Pound's Bay. Along this whole voyage they con- 
stantly fired guns, burned blue-lights and threw up 
rockets, with the hope of attracting the attention of 
the wanderers. They were disappointed however, 
and seeing no traces of Dr. Kane's party whatever, 
Captain Ilartstene concluded that they had passed 
through Melville Bay to Upernavick ; and he resolved 
at once to follow them thither. 

His conjecture was right. On the 11th of Septem- 
ber, as the Greenland vessel Mariano was about set- 
ting out from the port of Godhaven, having Dr. 
Kane's party on board, the look-out man at the hill- 
top announced the approach of a distant steamer. 
Soon she came nearer, having a barque in tow ; and 
the immortal stars and stripes fioating majestically 
at her mast-head. Instantly the Faith was lowered 
from the side of the Mariano, and the party in her 
pulled lustily for the approaching vessel. All the 
boats of the settlement hurried after her wake. Pre- 
sently the Faith was alongside the Arctic ; and Cap- 
tain Hartstene eagerly hailed a little man in a ragged 
flannel shirt; "/^ that Dr. KaneV An affirmative 
answer was instantly returned by the Doctor him- 
self; and in a few moments the distinguished naviga- 
tor bounded on the deck of his country's ship ; was 
received with loud plaudits of welcome by her com- 
mander and crew ; and thus he and his party returned 
again, as those alive from the dead, to an unfrozen 
world of civilization, comfort, and security. Dr. 
Kane's labors had not resulted in the discovery of 



BR. Kane's expedition. 517 

any traces or remains of Sir John Franklin's party ; but it 
was the means of securing important additions to geograph- 
ical knowledge, and valuable acquisitions in botany, mete- 
orology, geology, and other departments of science. His 
researches have left but little to be obtained by any suc- 
cessor in Arctic explorations, however resolute, vigorous, 
and accomplished he may be. Dr. Kane and his associ- 
ates returned to New York. in the squadron of Captain 
Hartstene, on the nth of October, 1855. 

[End of Dr. Smucker's Narrative]. 

The scientific results of Dr. Kane's expedition are thus 
summed up by himself in his report to the U. S. Navy 
department : — 

1. The survey and delineation of the north coast of 
Greenland to its termination by a great glacier. 

2. The survey of this glacial mass, and its extension 
northward into the new land named Washington. 

3. The discovery of a large channel to the north-west, 
free from ice, and leading into an open and expanding 
area, equally free. The whole embraces an iceless area 
of 4,200 miles. 

4. The discovery and delineation of a large tract of 
land, forming the extension northward of the American 
Continent. 

5. The completed survey of the American coast to the 
south, and west, as far as Cape Sabine ; thus connecting 
our survey with the last determined position of Captain 
Inglefield, and completing the circuit of the straits and 
bay heretofore known at their southernmost opening as 
Smith's Sound. 



Subsequent Career of Dr. Kane. — His Death, Feb- 
ruary 16, 1857. 

Elisha Kent Kane was born in Philadelphia, Feb. 3, 
1820. When he reached New York at the end of his 
second and last expedition in search of Sir John Franklin 
he was not quite 36 years old. As he was unquestionably 
one of the bravest of the long line of Arctic discoverers — at 



518 rnoGEEss of artic discovert. 

once the most devoted, chivalrous, accomplished and re- 
markable of those heroic explorers — it is fit that we should 
add here the short story of his remaining sixteen months of 
life, before proceeding with this narrative. To the seeds 
of former diseases never fully eradicated, had been added 
that terrible scourge of Arctic life, the scurvy, together 
with the exhausting literary labors incident to the prepara- 
tion of his thrilling narrative of adventures in the frozen 
seas, published in the year follov^ing his return to the 
United States. " The book, poor as it is, has been my 
COFFIN," was his own melancholy comment on its com- 
pletion. But his work was not considered " poor " by the 
world, nor by the lovers of science ; it excited an intense 
interest and drew forth universal eulogy. All classes 
were penetrated and touched by the story so modestly, so 
eloquently, so touchingly told. Medals and other costly 
testimonials were sent by the Queen of England, (by per- 
mission of an Act of Congress), by American Legislatures, 
and by scientific associations ; and he received letters of 
praise and congratulation from the most eminent men in all 
lands. 

He left this country for England under a presentiment 
that he should never return. It was indeed an alarming 
symptom to find that iron nerve which hitherto had sus- 
tained him under shocks apparently not less severe, thus 
beginning to falter ; and yet even then the great purpose 
of his life was not wholly abandoned, but he was already 
projecting a combined land and sea expedition of research 
and rescue, down the Mackenzie River, and through 
Bering's Straits. But virulent and continuous attacks of 
disease obliged him to give up his plans, to forsake the 
honors awaiting him in England, and to sail for Cuba to 
recuperate his strength. There he was joined by his mother 
and two of his brothers, and devotedly nursed through a 
lingering and painful illness, until his death, at Havana, 
on the i6th of February, 1857. 

The early fame and remarkable exploits, through a 
short but marvellously varied career, of this young mart}^ 
to the miseries of the Arctic seas, illustrate the advantages 
of intrepid and intellectual ancestry. On both sides he 
could trace his descent in this country to names eminent 



SITBSEQFENT CAREER OF t>R. KANE. 619 

before the American Revolution, being derived in the pa- 
ternal line from Ireland, Holland and England, and in the 
maternal line from Scotland, England and France, while 
the corresponding religions blended in it were the Episco- 
palian, Dutch Reformed and Congregational, with the 
Presbyterian, Quaker, Methodist and Moravian. His great 
grandfather was Colonel John Kane, of the British army, 
who came from Ireland to the colony of New York in 1756, 
settled in Dutchess County, and there married Miss Sybil 
Kent, daughter of Rev. Elisha Kent, of " Kent's Parish," 
N. Y., an aunt of Chancellor Kent. His grandfather, 
Elisha K. Kane, was a merchant in New York and Albany, 
who married^Miss Alida Van Rensselaer, daughter of Gen. 
Robert Van Rensselaer, of Claverack, N. Y., and subse- 
quently removed to Philadelphia. His father, Hon. John 
K. Kane, was a graduate of Yale College, and successively 
a member of the Philadelphia Bar, Attorney-General of 
the State, and Judge of the U. S. Court for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania. He was noted as a learned 
jurist, an influential statesman, an active promoter of the 
arts, sciences, and charities in Philadelphia, an eminent 
scholar, and a courtly gentleman. Dr Kane, with a just 
pride, wrote these names upon the map of the Arctic seas, 
preferring to call a new land or a river, after one of his 
own kinsmen, than to christen it for a Washington, a 
Franklin, or any other noted name too often repeated in 
our geographical nomenclature. The qualities which he 
inherited from these ancestors may serve to explain that 
rare combination of varied and even opposite elements of 
race, of creed, and of culture, which entered into the for- 
mation of his character. 

He died in the faith of his fathers, with the consolatory 
words of the Saviour upon his lips : — " Let not your heart 
be troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in me. In 
my Father's house are many mansions ;• if it were not so, 
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." 
Thus passed away this gre^t discoverer. His remains 
were conveyed from Havana to New Orleans, and thence 
through the western states to Philadelphia, the learned, the 
noble, and the good, forming his funeral cortege, until at 
length the national obsequies were completed in the Hall 



520 PROCxRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

of Independence, in the church of his childhood, and at 
the grave of his kindred. 

The mysterious and icy regions of the North will con- 
tinue to attract explorers and to become the grave of 
heroes consecrated to the service of science, so long as the 
exploits and misfortunes of Sir John Franklin, Dr. Kane, 
and their compeers, are remembered and emulated. 



Expedition on Captain Francis McClintock, July i, 
1857, — Discovery of the First Authentic Account 
OF Sir John Franklin's fate. Retljrn of the 
" Fox " TO Isle of Wight, September 20, 1859. 

In our account of the closing labors of Lady Jane Frank- 
lin's life, on page 357, we have mentioned briefly the trip of 
the " Fox " under Capt. McClintock. This little vessel 
left Aberdeen, July i, 1857. On arriving at Disco, on the 
coast of Greenland, McClintock purchased 35 Esquimau 
dogs, hired two natives as drivers, and steered for Lancas- 
ter Sound. In Baffin Bay, Aug. 17, nearly opposite the 
entrance to that channel, she was hemmed in by the ice 
for eight months. Moving with the pack, she had drifted 
1395 miles to the southward, when the ice left her April 25, 
1858. After refitting at Holsteinburg, she arrived in Lan- 
caster Sound, July 12, and sailed through Barrow Strait. 
Thence she passed northeastward, around North Somerset, 
through Bellot Strait, which borders the North American 
Continent. On Sept. 27, the "Fox" took up her winter 
quarters at Port Kennedy, on the north shore of the Strait. 
From this point, Lieut. Hobson made a sledge journey, wath 
""provisions, towards the magnetic pole ; Capt. Young to the 
further side of Franklin Strait, and McClintock and Peter- 
son traveled southward. March i, 1859, the latter met 
near Cape Victoria, a party of Esquimaux, who reported 
that several years before a ship had been crushed in the 
ice, and sunk in deep water off the northwest shore of 
King William Land ; that her crew went off to a great 
river, where they all died of starvation. The natives also 
said that a second vessel (Franklin's) drifted ashore at King 



RECORDS OF franklin's SHIPS. 521 

I William Land, and that the skeleton of one man was 

i found on board. On the east shore of King William 

I Land, McClintock heard that when the " white people 

marched toward the Great River, many of them dropped by 

the way ;'^ their bodies were found the next winter, and 

some were buried. McClintock followed the south and 

, west coast of King William Land and found the first trace 

i of Franklin's crew near Cape Herschel. It was a bleached 

: skeleton, lying at full length on the beach — some clothing, 

I a pocketbook, and a few letters. A day's march north- 

i east of Cape Crozier, about 65 miles from the abandoned 

I ships, the party discovered a boat and a sledge, in which 

[were two skeletons, two loaded guns, Sir John Franklin's 

j silver plate, besides fuel, ammunition, chocolate, tea, 

tobacco etc., Lieut. Hobson tracked the north and west 

\ shores of King William Land, almost to Cape Herschel, and 

at the most northern point of the island, near Cape Felix, 

jhe came across a ruined cairn and three tents; two smaller 

I cairns were afterward found, and on May 6, a large one 

was examined at Point Victory. Here, lying among some 

'stones at the bottom of the cairn, was a tin case contain- 

!ing a record of the lost expedition, which read as follows : 

28 of May, 1847. — H. M. ships " Erebus" and ''Terror," wintered 
jin the ice in lat. 70^5 N., Ion. 98^ 23 W. Having wintered in 1846-7 
[this date should be evidently, 1845-6], at Beechey Island in lat. 
74^ 43' 28' N , Ion. 91" 39' 15' W., after having ascended Welling- 
ton channel to lot. 77*^ and returned by the W. side of Cornvvallis 
Island. Sir John P'ranklin commanding the expedition. All well. 
Party consisting of 2 officers and 6 men left the ship on Monday, 24th 
May, 1847. Wm. Gore, Lieut; Chas. F. Des Vceux, Mate. 

Around the margin of the record was written in a dif- 
ferent hand : 

"April 25, 1848.H. M. Ships " Terror " and " Erebus " 
■were deserted on the 22nd April, 5 leagues N. N. W. of this, 
having been beset since 12th Sept. 1846. The officers and 
crews, consisting of 145 souls, under the command of Capt. 
F. R. M. Crozier, landed here, in lat. 690 34/ 42 "Ion. 980 4' 
15.' " This paper was found by Lt. Irving under the cairn 
supposed to have been built by Sir James Ross in 183 1, 
jfour miles to the northward, where it had been deposited by 
ithe late Commander Gore in June 1847. S^'" James Ross's 



522 PROGEESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

pillar has not however, been found, and the paper has 
been transferred to this position, which is that in which Sir 
J. Ross's pillar was erected. Sir John Franklin died on i 
the nth June, 1847, ^^^ the total loss by deaths in the 
expedition has been to this date 9 officers and 15 men. 

James Fitzjames, Captain H. M. S. 'Erebus,' 
F. R. M. Crozier, Captain and senior offr. 

And start on to-morrow, 26th, for Back's Fish river." 
No further traces of the lost voyagers were found, except 
large quantities of clothing and other articles. McClintock 
purchased many relics from the natives, with which he 
returned to his vessels, June 19. He had completed the 
delineation of the north shore of the American Continent, 
as well as of Boothia and King William Land ; had opened 
a new and capacious channel, extending northwest from 
Victoria Strait to Parry or Melville Sound, which, at the 
suggestion of Lady Franklin, was afterwards named 
McClintock channel. His researches also proved Sir John 
Franklin to be the discoverer of the Northwest passage ; 
for they showed that Sir John passed up Lancaster sound, , 
explored Wellington Channel, unknown till then, to a point \ 
further north than previous explorers had reached ; had 
sailed around Cornwallis Island, and wintered at Beechey >. 
Island; that in the spring and summer of 1846, he navi^ ; 
gated Bellot Strait, or Peel Sound, and reached Victoria '| 
Strait in Sept., thus completing a chain of water communi- 
cation between the two oceans. The Fox sailed for home 
on Aug. 9, and reached the Isle of Wight, Sept. 20, 1859. ' 



Explorations of Dr. Isaac I. Hayes (Surgeon of second 
Grinnell Expedition), i860 — '61. 

Dr. Hayes, Surgeon of the " Advance," in Dr. Kane's 
second Grinnell Expedition, had traced Grinnell land, 
beyond the 80th parallel, and he now projected a new 
voyage to complete the survey of the north coasts of 
Greenland, and to find that chimera of so many dreams, 
" The Open Polar Sea." For a complete account of his 
hazardous journey, the reader is referred to his own book, 
by the latter title (New York, 1867.) 



DR. HAYES FIRST EXPEDITIOiN^. 523 

He secured contributions, from friends of the enterprise 
in New York, Phila., Boston and Albany, sufficient to equip 
one vessel, the fore-and-aft schooner " Spring Hill " of 133 
tons burthen. Her name was changed by act of Congress to 
the " United States." His crew numbered fifteen persons, 
Mr. August Sonntag being the astronomer of the ex- 
pedition. The outfit of clothing, provisions, and ammuni- 
tion was far better than that of Dr. Kane's in 1853, and a 
fair equipment for scientific investigation was furnished by 
the Smithsonian Institute and the coast survey. 

The ship sailed from Boston Harbor, July 7, i860. On 
the 30th she crossed the Arctic circle, her average speed 
being 100 miles a day. Here the sun shone full in the 
heavens at midnight. On August i, she entered the harbor 
of Proven ; the fog lifted, and " Greenland, with its broad 
valleys, deep ravines, lofty mountains, black and desolate 
cliffs, and innumerable icebergs burst into view. " It 
seemed," says Dr. Hayes in this interesting book, " as 
if we had been drawn, by some unseen hand, into a land 
of enchantment ; here was the Valhalla of the sturdy 
Vikings, here the city of the Sungod Fryer, — Alfheiur with 
its elfin caves, and glitter more brilliant than the sun, the 
home of the happy ; and there, piercing the clouds, was 
Hinnborg, the celestial mount." At midnight he wrote 
in his diary : " The sea is smooth as glass, not a ripple 
breaks its surface, not a breath of air is stirring. The sun 
hangs close upon the northern horizon ; the fog has broken 
up into light clouds ; the icebergs lie thick about us ; the 
dark headlands stand boldly out against the sky : and the 
clouds and bergs and mountains are bathed in an atmos- 
phere of crimson and gold, and purple, most singularly 
beautiful. The air is warm almost as a summer night at 
home, and yet there are the icebergs and the bleak moun- 
tains. The sky is bright, soft, and inspiring as the skies 
of Italy ; the bergs have lost their chilly appearance, and, 
glittering in the blaze of the brilliant heavens, seem in the 
i distance like masses of burnished metal or solid flame. 
I Nearer at hand, they are huge blocks of Parian marble, in- 
1 laid with mammoth gems of pearl and gold. The form of 
' one is not unlike that of the Coliseum, and it lies so far 
! away that half its height is buried beneath the blood-red 



524 PROGHESS OF AKCTIC DISCOVERY. 

waters. The sun, slowl}^ rolling along the horizon, passed 
behind it, and it seemed as if the old Roman ruin had 
suddenly taken fire." 

AtUpernavik, Jensen, a Dane, who had lived ten years 
in Greenland, was enlisted as an interpreter, two Danes as 
sailors, and three natives as hunters and dog-drivers. Tes- 
suissak was made on the 21st, and here Arctic clothing 
and dog teams were procured. Melville Bay was entered 
on the 23d ; and without encountering much ice, the pas- 
sage to Cape York was made in 55 hours. Here Hans 
Hendrick, with his wife and babe, joined the party ; he was 
also a member of the last Kane expedition. August 26th, 
the ship arrived 20 miles south of Cape Alexander, the 
entering cape of Smith's Sound, a little further north than 
Baffin in 1616, and Ross, in 1818. 

In latitude yS'^ 17' 41" N., long. 720 30' 57" W., 20 miles 
south of Kane's Harbor in 1854-55, winter-quarters were 
prepared in the little harbor of Hartstene Bay, named by 
Hayes Port Foulke. The lowest temperature registered 
was only — 29", at Port Foulke ; but at Rensselaer Harbor, 
20 miles further north, Dr. Hayes registered on the same 
day — 68° Fah. In the autumn, Dr. Hayes and Mr. Sonn- 
tag made a visit to " Brother John's Glacier " (named by 
Dr. Kane after his brother, J. P. Kane, who died in March, 
1886,) and made a journey upon it and upon the Mer de 
Glace to the eastward, about 50 miles inland. At first, the 
surface of this glacier was broken and irregular, but grad- 
ually became smooth, with a regular ascent, and the ex- 
plorers reached an elevation of about 5000 feet. On Dec. 
22nd, Mr. Sonntag started with Hans to visit the Eskimos 
at or near Whale Sound, in order to purchase dogs or to 
procure from the natives the service of their dog-teams. 
On their way, the astronomer, growing a little chilled, sprang 
off the sledge, and ran ahead to warm himself by exercise, 
but suddenly sank through the thin ice which covered a re- 
cently opened tide-track. Hans succeeded in pulling him 
up, but he was at the point of freezing to death, and after- 
wards died in the snow-hut to which Hans conveved him. 
His body was disinterred from the snow in the following 
month, when the thermometer stood at 40 deg. below zero, 
and was brought back to the Observatory. A grave was dug 



HAYES DESCPJBES THE ARCTIC NIGHT. 525 

in the frozen terrace, where the bodv still rests. Over it was 
chiselled the inscription:—" AUGUST SONNTAG, died 
j ^ec. 28, i860, aged 28 years." In the vestibule of the 
' Dudley Observatory, Albany, hangs a portrait of the young 
. astronomer ; under it are the sad words, " Perished in the 
! ice at Port Foulke, latitude 780 17' 14" N., Dec. 28, i860." 
January 16, 1861, Dr. Hayes wrote in his Journal, this 
] graphic description of his long night in the ice zones : — = 
i "Our eyes now turn wistfully to the South, eagerly walch- 
I ing for the tip of Aurora's chariot, as the fair goddess of 
1 the morning rises from the sea to drop a ray of gladness 
! from her rosy fingers into this long-neglected world. It is 
j almost a month since we passed the darkest day of winter, 
I and it will be a long time yet before we have light ; but it 
is time for us now to have at noontime a faint flush upon 
' the horizon. A faint twilight flush mounting the south- 
ern sky to-day at the meridian hour, though barely percept- 
! ible, was a cheering sight to all. We feel that the veil of 
j night is lifting, that the cloud is passing away, that the load 

j of darkness is being lightened 

' "The people have exhausted theirmeans of amusement;- 
■' we long for the day and for work. Talk as you will of 
pluck and of manly amusement, this Arctic night is a severe 
ordeal. It is a severe trial to the moral and the intellect- 
ual faculties. The cheering influences of the rising sun, 
which invite to labor ; the soothing influences of the even- 
mg twilight, which invite to repose ; the change from day 
to night and from night to day, which lightens the burden 
to the weary mind and the aching 'body, is withdrawn ; 
and, in the constant longing for light, light! the mind and 
body, weary with the changeless progress of the time, fail 
to find repose where all is rest. The grandeur of Nature 
ceases to give delight to the dull sympathies; the heart 
longs for new associations, new objects, and new compan- 
ionships ; the dark and dreary solitude oppresses the under- 
standing ; the desolation which reigns everywhere haunts 
the imagination ; the silence — dark, dreary, and profound, 
becomes a terror. I have gone out into the Arctic night, 
and viewed Nature in her varied aspect. I have rejoiced 
with her in her strength, and communed with her in repose. 
I have walked abroad in the darkness, when the winds 



526 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

were roaring through the hills and crashing over the plains. 
I have wandered far out upon the frozen sea, and listened 
to the voice of the icebergs, bewailing their imprisonment ; 
along the glacier, where forms and falls the avalanche ; up 
on the hill-top, where the drifting snow, coursing its way 
over the rocks, sang its plaintive song ; and again I have 
wandered away to the distant valley, v/here all these sounds 
were hushed, and the air was still and solemn as the tomb. 
And here it is that the true spirit of the Arctic night is re- 
vealed, where its wonders are unloosed, to sport and play 
with the mind. Vain imaginings ! The heavens above and 
the earth beneath reveal only an endless and fathomless 
quiet ; there is nowhere evidence of life or motion ; I stand 
alone amidst the mighty hills ; their tall crests climb upward 
and are lost in the gray vault of the skies, their dark cliffs, 
standing against their slopes of white, are the steps of a 
vast amphitheatre. The mind finding no rest on their bold 
summits, wanders into space ; the moon weary with long 
vigil, sinks to her repose ; the Pleiades no longer breathe 
their sweet influences ; Cassiopeia and Andromeda and 
Orion, and all the infinite host of the unnumbered constel- 
lations, fail to infuse one spark of joy into this dead atmos- 
phere ; they have lost all their tenderness, and are cold 
and pulseless. The eye leaves them and returns to earth, 
and the trembling ear awaits something that will break the 
oppressive silence. But no footfall of living thing reaches 
it, no wild beast howls through the solitude. There is no 
cry of bird to enliven the scene, no tree among whose 
branches the winds can sigh and moan. The pulsations 
of my own heart are alone heard in the great void ; and, 
as the blood courses through the sensitive organization of 
the ear, I am oppressed as with discordant sounds. Silence 
has ceased to be negative ; it has become endowed with 
positive attributes. I seem to hear and see and feel it. 
It stands forth as a frightful spectre, filling the mind with 
the overpowering consciousness of universal death, — pro- 
claiming the end of all things and heralding the everlasting 
future. Its presence is unendurable. I spring from the 
rock upon which I have been seated ; I plant my feet heav- 
ily in the snow, to banish its awful presence, and the sound 
roUj? through the night and drive? away the phantom. 



HAYES ON THE OPEN POLAR SEA. 527 

" I have seen no expression on the face of Nature so 
filled with terror as the silence of the arctic night." 

On the 4th of April, 1861, Hayes, with twelve officers 
and men, started out on his principal sledge journey to the 
north, with a metallic life-boat mounted on runners. He 
was compelled to keep to the eastern shore, and encount- 
ered Dr. Kane's experience with ice hummocks, so that he 
sent back the boat with the main party and kept on with 
two companions only. With these, he reached the West 
coast, entered Kennedy Channel, and on April 16, he 
reached lat. 8i^^ 35 N,, long., 70*^, 30' W,, 40 miles further 
north, (to which he gave the name of Cape Lieber), than 
Kane's highest on the east shore. After a journey, coming 
and going, of 1400 miles, and an absence of 59 days, he 
returned to his vessel. Dr. Hayes did not find open water 
in Kennedy Channel, but much decayed and thin ice, inter- 
spersed with pools of water — in one, a flock of water-fowls, 
the Uria Grylae, dovekies. The west coast was lined 
with a heavy ridge of ice, with masses 60 feet in height, 
lying high and dry upon the beach. 

It will be interesting here to quote Dr. Hayes' argu- 
ments, in favor of an " Open Polar Sea." In his book to 
which we have previously alluded, he cites the three breaks 
and the long line of northern coast, through which the 
waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans enter the north- 
ern basin, and says : " If one traces the currents on the 
map, and follows the Gulf Stream as it flows northward, 
pouring the warm waters of the Tropic Zone through the 
broad gateway east of Spitzbergen, and forcing out a re- 
turn current of cold waters to the west of Sj^itzbergen, and 
and through Davis Strait, he will very readily comprehend 
why in this incessant displacement of the waters of the 
Pole by the waters of the Equator, the great body of the 
former is never chilled to within several degrees of the 
freezing point ; and since it is probably as deep, as it is 
almost as broad, as the Atlantic between Europe and 
America, he will be prepared to understand that this vast 
body of water tempers the whole region with a warmth above 
that which is otherwise natural to it ; and that the Al- 
mighty hand, in the all-wise dispensation of His power, has 
thus placed a bar to its congelation ; and he will read in 



528 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

this another symbol of Nature's great law of circulation, 
which, giving water to the parched earth, and moisture to 
the air, moderates as well the temperature of the zones — 
cooling the Tropic with a current of water from the Frigid, 
and warming the Frigid with a current from the Tropic. 

*' Bearing these facts in mind, the reader will perceive 
that it is the surface water only which ever reaches so low 
a temperature that it is changed to ice ; and he will also 
perceive that when the wind moves the surface water, the 
particles which have become chilled by contact with the 
air mingle in the rolling waves with the warm waters be- 
neath, and hence that ice can only form in sheltered places, 
or where the water of some bay is so shoal, and the current 
so slack, that it becomes chilled to the very bottom, or 
where the air over the sea is uniformly calm. He will 
remember, however, that the winds blow as fiercely over 
the Polar Sea as in any other quarter of the world ; and he 
will, therefore, have no difficulty in comprehending that the 
Polar ice covers but a small part of the Polar water ; and 
that it exists only where it is nursed and protected by the 
land. It clings to the coasts of Siberia, and springing 
thence across Bering Strait to America, it hugs the Amer- 
ican shore, fills the narrow channels which drain the 
Polar waters into Baffin Bay through the Parry Archipelago, 
crosses thence to Greenland, from Greenland to Spitzber- 
gen, and from Spitzbergen to Nova-Zembla, — thus investing 
the Pole in an uninterrupted land-clinging belt of ice, more 
or less broken, as well in winter as in summer, and the 
fragments ever moving to and fro, though never widely 
separating, forming a barrier against which all the arts and 
energies of man have not hitherto prevailed 

" With the warm flood of the Gulf Stream pouring north- 
ward, keeping the waters of the Polar Sea at a temperature 
above the freezing point, while the winds, blowing as con- 
stantly, under the Arctic as under the Tropic sky, and the 
ceaseless currents of the sea and the tide-flow of the sur- 
face keep the waters ever in movement, it is not possible 
that even any considerable portion of this extensive sea 
can be frozen over. At no point within the Arctic Circle 
has there been found an ice-belt extending, either in Win- 
ter or in Summer, more than from fifty to a hundred miles 



THE OPEN POLAE SEA. 529 

from land. And even in the narrow channels separating 
the islands of the Parry Archipelago, in Baffin Bay in the 
North Water, and in the mouth of Smith Sound, every- 
where within the broad area of the Frigid Zone, the waters 
will not freeze except when sheltered by the land, or when 
an ice-pack, accumulated by a long continuance of winds 
from one quarter, affords the same protection. That the 
sea does not close except when at rest, 1 had abundant 
reason to know during the late winter ; for at all times, 
even when the temperature of the air was below the freez- 
ing point of mercury, I could hear from the deck of the 
schooner the roar of the beating waves." 

In a previous page, we spoke of this cherished idea of 
an " open polar sea," as a qhimera of the imagination, 
which is inconsistent with the rigorous experience of ail 
who have ventured into that region of death during any 
recorded period of the earth's history. On this subject 
Capt Richards, Hygdrographer to the Admiralty, and a 
a member of the English Expedition under Capt. Nares, 
of 1875, says : "The latter-day theory of an open Polar Sea 
rests on no foundation, practical or philosophical. Even if 
it could be shown that a somewhat higher mean temper- 
ature is theoretically due in that area where the sun is for 
six consecutive months above the horizon, and for a similar 
period below it, this would avail nothing ; for the dissolution 
of the Winter's ice is not dependent on the influence of 
the Summer's heat alone ; otherwise the difficulties of Arc- 
tic navigation would disappear, at any rate for some short 
period, during every season. A variety of other elements 
are equally as important. Chief among them is the action 
of the winds and tides to break up the decaying floes, but 
paramount above all others is the necessity for sufficient 
outlets for the escape of the ice so broken up throughout 
the vast area of the Polar basin. These outlets we know do 
not exist ; an insignificant point of land, moreover, will 
act as a wedge, or the prevalence of an unfavorable wind 
for a few days at the critical period will suffice to decide 
the question whether such inlets, so important as Welling- 
ton Channel in Smith Sound, will be closed or open during 
a season. From a ship's masthead or a mountain summit 
the visible horizon is limited by the curvature of the earth. 



530 PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

and those who have navigated in these regions will well 
remember how one short hour has carried them from an 
apparently open sea to a dead-lock, with no streak of water 
in ^ght. Water-skies are delusive ; an insignificant crack 
or lane in the ice will produce them, and the only admis- 
sible evidence of a Polynia or navigable Polar basin must 
be the fact that a ship has sailed through it." 

Captain Nares himself says, in his Journal, June 22, 
1876: — " It would appear that the sun, unassisted by other 
causes, is, after a cold winter, not sufficiently powerful to 
produce a thaw on a snow-clad ground until it attains an 
altitude of about 30'^; if this is the case, then at the North 
Pole it is doubtful if the snow ever becomes melted." 

Captain Feilden, the naturalist of Nares' expedition, 
says : " If there be an extension of land to the northern- 
most part of our globe, I see no reason why a few species 
of birds should not resort there to breed. There would 
still be sufficient summer, if such a term may be used, for 
the period of incubation ; and from what I have seen of 
the transporting powers of the wind in drifting seeds over 
the frozen expanse of the Polar Sea, I cannot doubt that 
a scanty flora exists at the Pole itself, if there be any land 
there, and that the abundance of insect life which exists 
as high as the eighty-third degree will be present at the 
ninetieth, sufficient to provide for a few knots, sanderlings, 
and turnstones." 



The Open Polar Sea of the Future. 

But while the polar regions are indisputably ice-bound 
and uninhabitable by civilized men, and must so remain 
for thousands of years to come — there was a period in the 
early history of the earth when mild climates prevailed at 
the pole — and the hypothesis is equally tenable that in the 
revolving cycles of time, so distant in futurity that only the 
boldest scientists will presume to compute it at 10,000 to 
12,000 years, the icy zones will again enjoy an equable 
and life-sustaining temperature. This theory is ably main- 
tained by Mr. James Croll in Climate and Cosmology (Ap- 



POL AS SEA OP THE PtrTUEE. 531 

pletons), and the following bare outline of his views will 
not be inappropriate in connection with these speculations 
regarding an Open Polar Sea. 

It is an indisputable datum of geology that at some for- 
mer epoch the polar regions enjoyed a comparatively mild 
and equable climate, and that places now buried under 
permanent snow and ice were then covered with a rich and 
luxuriant vegetation. Attempts to account for this remark- 
able state of things have been made by postulating a 
different distribution of sea and land, a change in the ob- 
liquity of the ecliptic, and a displacement of the earth's 
axis of rotation. The reasons for rejecting such theories 
are set forth at length by Mr. Croll, but passing over these, 
we come at once to the explanation which he is persuaded 
is the true one. The steps by which he reaches his con- 
clusions are the following : The annual quantity of heat 
received from the sun at the equator is tO that at the poles 
as twelve to five, and if the same percentage of rays were 
cut off by the atmosphere at both places, their temperatures 
would differ in the same ratio. As a matter of fact, more 
rays are cut off at the poles than at the equator, and con- 
sequently the difference in the amount of heat received 
from the sun is actually much greater. But we may waive 
this hypothetical excess of polar cold, because in truth the 
polar temperature is very much nearer the equatorial than 
would be indicated by the ratio five to twelve, and the 
problem is to account for this surprising approximation. 
The mean difference of temperature ought not to be less 
(although probably more) than 2000 Fahr., but the actual 
difference does not much, if at all, exceed 800. But since 
this paradoxical increment of heat does not come directly 
from the sun's rays, how is it obtained ? Obviously by a 
transference of heat from the equator to the poles. But 
how was this transference effected ? There were only two 
agencies available, to wit, aerial or ocean currents. But 
Mr. Croll has demonstrated that the amount of heat con- 
veyable from the equator to the poles by means of aerial 
currents is trifling; consequently the transference must be 
attributed to the currents of the ocean. Yet if it can trans- 
form a polar into a temperate climate, the influence of 
ocean currents in the distribution of heat over the globe 



532 PilOOllESf^ OF ARCTIC DiRCOVERY. 

must manfestly have been hitherto enormously under-esti- 
mated : and it becomes important to determine with as much 
exactitude as possible the amount of heat actually being 
conveyed northward from the equator by this agency. Now 
the only great current whose volume and temperature have 
been ascertained with an approach to certainty is the Gulf 
Stream. The absolute amount of heat borne northward 
by that stream is computed to be more than equal to all 
the heat received from the sun within a zone of the earth's 
surface, extending thirty-two miles on each side of the 
equator. Or,- in other words, as a little calculation will 
demonstrate, the aomunt of equatorial heat carried into 
temperate and polar regions by this stream alone is equal 
to one-fourth of all the heat received fiom the sun by the 
North Atlantic, from the Tropic of Cancer up to the Arctic 
Circle. But there are several other great currents, some of 
which, though not yet subjected to as careful mensuration, 
are believed to convey as much heat poleward as the Gulf 
Stream. Taking into account, then, the influence of the 
whole system of oceanic circulation, we can no longer feel 
surprised that the difference of temperature- between the 
equator and the poles should be reduced from 2000 to 800. 
The real cause of former comparatively mild climates in 
Arctic regions is thus revealed : '* All that was necessary 
to confer on, say, Greenland, a condition of climate which 
would admit of the growth of a luxuriant vegetation, is 
simply an increase in the amount of heat transferred from 
equatorial to Arctic regions by means of ocean currents." 
Nor is any very great amount of increase needed for the 
purpose, for " the severity of the climate of that region is 
about as much due to the cooling effect of the permanent 
snow and ice as to an actual want of heat. An increase 
in the amount of warm water entering the Arctic Ocean, 
just sufficient to prevent the formation of permanent ice, 
is all that is really necessary ; for were it not for the pres- 
ence of ice the summers of Greenland would be as warm 
as those of England." The same considerations of course, 
point to another result of a converse character. " If a 
large increase in the volume and temperature of the stream 
would confer on Greenland and the Arctic regions a con- 
dition of climate something like that of Northwestern Eu- 



MILD CLIMATE m THIS AKCTIC, 533 

rope, it is obvious that a large dec7'ease in its temperature 
and volume would, on the other hand, lead to a state of 
things in Northwestern Europe approaching to that which 
now prevails in Greenland. A decrease leads to a glacial, 
an increase to an interglacial condition of things." 

We are brought next to the inquiry, what, according to 
Mr. Croll, were the causes of such pregnant changes in the 
volume and temperature of the ocean currents. His po- 
sition is that adequate causes may be found in physical 
agencies, stimulated or checked by changes in the eccen- 
tricity of the earth's orbit, provided the heat-transferring 
power of such agencies is suffered to be operative by such 
geographical conditions as now exist, and which there is 
not an atom of evidence for believing have been materially 
altered since the glacial epoch. It is unnecessary to post- 
ulate the submergence or the elevation of continents, or 
the existence of extra inter-continental channels, transport- 
ing northward additional heat currents, and thus contribut- 
ing to ameliorate the climate of the pole. The geographical 
conditions and the physical agencies which actually exist 
are amply sufficient to account for all the facts. " When 
the eccentricity of the earth's orbit is at a high value, and 
the northern winter solstice is in perihelion, agencies are 
brought into operation which make the southeast trade 
winds stronger than the northeast, and compel them to 
blow over upon the northern hemisphere as far probably 
as the Tropic of Cancer. The result is that all the great 
equatorial currents of the ocean are impelled into the north- 
ern hemisphere, which thus, in consequence of the immense 
accumulation of warm water, has its temperature raised, 
and snow and ice to a great extent must then disappear 
from the Arctic regions. When contrariwise, the proces- 
sion of the equinoxes brings round the winter solstice to 
aphelion, the condition of things on the two hemispheres 
is reversed, and the northeast trades then blow over upon 
the southern hemisphere, carrying the great equatorial cur- 
rents along with them. The warm water being thus wholly 
withdrawn from the northern hemisphere, its temperature 
sinks .enormously, and snow and ice begin to accumulate 
in temperate regions." 

It will, of course, be noted that, according to this theory, 



534 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DiSCOTEEY. 

the maximum of cold at the north pole would result from 
the coincidence of a maximum eccentricity in the earth's 
orbit with the occurrence of winter in aphelion. Mr. Croll 
states that the mean interval between two consecutive in- 
terglacial periods (corresponding to the time required by 
the equinoctial point to pass from perihelion round to per- 
ihelion) is not, as is commonly assumed, 21,000, but 23,230 
years. At intervals, therefore, of from 10,000 to 12,000 
years the north pole will experience the extreme of cold 
and the extreme of heat compatible with the coincident 
geographical conditions, and with the coincident eccen- 
tricity of the earth's orbit, the latter factor being ascertain- 
able from Croll's tables. 

The final result, therefore, to which Mr. Croll would 
lead us is, that those warm and cold periods which have 
alternately prevailed during past ages. are simply the great 
secular summers and winters of our globe, depending as 
truly as the annual ones do upon planetary motions, and 
like them also fulfilling some important ends in the econ- 
omy of nature. 



t 



The Glacier System. 

Dr. Hayes' journey over the Mer de Glace, and his re- 
newed inspection of the great Glacier discovered by Dr. 
Kane, have been referred to on a preceding page. He 
discusses the glacier system of Greenland in his " Open 
Polar Sea," where he says : " Greenland may be regarded 
as a 7Jast resc?-voir of ice. Upon the slopes of its lofty 
hills, the downy snowflake has become the hardened crys- 
tal, and increasing little by little from year to year and 
century to century, a broad cloak of frozen vapor has 
at length completely overspread the land, and along its 
wide border there pour a thousand crystal streams into the 
sea. The manner of the glacier growth, beginning in | 
some remote epoch, when Greenland, nursed in warmth 
and sunshine [see Mr. Croll's hypothesis] was clothed 
with vegetation, is a subject of much interest to the student 
of physical geography. The explanation of the phenom- t 



THE GLACllEE SYSTEM. 635 

ena is, however, greatly simplified by the knowledge 
which various explorers have contributed from the Alps, — 
a quarter having all the value of the Greenland mountains, 
as illustratii'ig the laws which govern the formation and move- 
ments of mountain ice, and which possesses the important 
advantage of greater accessibility. It was easy to perceive 
in the grand old bed of ice over which I had travelled, 
those same physical markings which had arrested the at- 
tention of Agassiz and Forbes and Tyndall, and it was a 
satisfaction to have confirmed by actual experiment in the 
field the reflections of the study, to be able to make a com- 
parison between the Alpine and the Greenland ice." 

Dr. Hayes then quotes the conclusion of the Ahh6 M. Le 
Chanoine Rendu, published in the Memoirs of the Royal 
Academy of Sciences of Savoy — '' That the glacier and the 
river are in effect the same ; that between them there is a 
resemblance so complete that it is impossible to find in the 
latter a circumstance which does not exist in the former ; 
and as the river drains the waters which fall upon the hill- 
sides to the ocean, so the glacier drains the ice which 
forms from the snows on the mountain sides down to the 
same level." And, " the conceiving will of the Creator has 
employed for the permanence of His work, 'the great law of 
circulation, which, strictly examined, is found to reproduce 
itself in all parts of Nature." On this Dr. Hayes com- 
ments as follows : " A glacier is, in effect, but a float- 
ing stream of frozen water ; and the river systems of 
the Temperate and Equatorial Zones become the gla- 
cier systems of the Arctic and the Antarctic. The iceberg 
is the discharge of the Arctic river, the Arctic river is 
the glacier, and the glacier is the accumulation of the 
frozen vapors of the air. Moving on its slow and steady 
course from the distant hills, at length it reaches the 
sea, which tears from the slothful stream a monstrous 
fragment, taking back to itself its own again. Freed 
from the shackles which it has borne in silence 
through unnumbered centuries, this new-born child of the 
ocean rushes with a wild bound into the arms of the parent 
water, where it is caressed by the surf and nursed into 
life again ; and the crystal drops receive their long-lost 
freedom, and fly away on the laughing waves to catch once 



536 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

more the sunbeam, and to run again their course through 
the long cycle of the ages." 

As the iceberg, its formation, its laws, its uses and ends, 
are the most interesting theme suggested bv Arctic dis- 
coveries, we subjoin the following remarks and obser- 
vations, by Mr. Charles Hallock, upon a recent trip to 
Alaska : — 

THE HOME OF THE ICEBERG. 

How THE Outputs of the Great Alaska Glaciers ap- 
pear — Watching the Icy Mountains thrown off 
BY Heat and Expansion — A Roaring as of Artil- 
lery IN the Air — Scenes in Northern Seas 

The excursion steamer which makes its monthly trips 
from Portland,. Oregon, to Sitka and beyond, cruises along 
a thousand miles of Alaskan coast. No fewer thaw five 
large glaciers can be seen, including the Davidson, Sum- 
down, Patterson, Taku, and Muir. The Muir and David- 
son glaciers are spurs or outflows of the same ice field, 
which has an unbroken expanse of four hundred miles — 
large enough to lay over the whole domain of Switzerland. 
The Muir is the ultimate objective point of sight-seers, who 
by the time they have become accustomed to the un- 
familiar blending of Mediterranean with Alpine scenery so 
exclusively characteristic of the North Pacific coast, are 
partially prepared for the astounding revelation which 
presently awaits them at the head of Glacier Bay. This 
bay is about 120 miles northeast of Sitka, and lies in lat. 
59" 40'. It is the most northern point reached on the 
trip. Sitka has yet to be visited, but that polyglot settle- 
ment occupies a secondary place in the anticipations of 
those whose conceptions of a glacier have been inspired by 
visions or readings of the Matterhorn or Rhone. J 

Until a comparatively recent period glacial dynamics f 
have remained to a certain extent a matter of theory. The |i 
birth of an iceberg is said to be a phenomenon unknown in ji 
Europe. On that continent the glacial force is almost j 
spent, and he who would witness the mighty outcome of |i 
its latent power must seek it on the confines of the New i 



THE HOME OF THE ICEBERG. 537 

j World. He will not find it in the fastnesses of Switzerland. 
! There the once overwhelming accumulations of snow, which 
filled the mountain valleys to the level of their topmost 
I peaks, no longer supply the glacial streams with material 
I for bergs. The ice fields have dwindled to insignificant 
• areas, and their discharge is, for the most part, fluvial, 
i though much of their bulk is dissipated by evaporation or 
! absorption into the warm earth of the lower altitudes. 
But in Greenland, which has recently been investigated by 
Danish explorers, the ice fields were found to cover the 
country like a pall, for 1,500 miles, from Cape Farewell to 
the furthest discovered point, and their breadth is abso- 
lutely unknown. Out of the almost interminable waste of 
frigid desolation pours the great glacier Sermitsialik, with a 
width of from two to four miles, completely occupying the 
valley out of which it debouches to the depth of 2,000 feet 
or more. It is only one of hundreds of similar frozen 
rivers, all of which, as far as is known, are pigmies beside 
the great Humboldt glacier discovered by Dr. Kane at the 
head of Smith Sound. This is sixty miles in width, with 
enclosing walls of rock a thousand feet high. Its front 
abuts the sea, and is washed by the waves like any other 
coast line. 

From these Titanic sources of perpetual supply are emit- 
ted those stupendous icebergs which fill the north Atlantic 
from June to August to an extent that dozens can be count- 
ed from the masthead within the scope of view. The 
dimensions of some of them are incredible. I have seen 
one off the coast of Labrador which was estimated to be 
two miles long and 300 feet high ; and this great mass was 
sloughed off entire from the Humboldt sea wall with one 
tremendous cleavage, plunge, and surge, as a great ship 
leaves the ways. Such mountains of ice are perpetually 
falling all along the line, with an intermittent crash and 
roar like the tumult of a tempest. The din of the great 
commotion can be heard for miles. It is an axiom that 
mechanical forces are best comprehended by their pro- 
ducts ; so that no one can begin to realize what a stupend- 
ous factor a glacier is until he sees" the measure of its 
infinite power thus made supremely manifest. 

The glaciers of the North Pacific are much smaller in 



538 PEOCEESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

comparison, but the Muir is three miles long, with a per- 
pendicular face of 400 feet, stretching like a frozen water- 
fall or gigantic dam entirely across the head of the bay. 
Its breast is as blue as turquoise. At a distance it looks like 
a fillet rent from the azure sky and laid across the brow of 
the cliff. When the full blaze of the southwestern sun 
lights up its opalescence, it gleams like the gates of the 
celestial city. I suppose that an iceberg of no insignificant 
size is sloughed off from some portion of its sea wall as 
often as once in five minutes, but these detachments sel- 
dom represent more than a limited section, and most of 
them break up into comparatively small fragments before 
they are fairly launched on their seaward journey. Visit- 
ors are told that glaciers move at a rate of so many feet or 
inches daily. Ocular evidence may be obtained by fixed 
landmarks, which indicate a stated progression. From the 
size and frequency of the cleavages here it would seem 
that the progress of the Muir must be several rods a day, 
though an estimate can only be approximated, as there is 
no true alignment, and the centre moves faster than the 
sides. 

Long before the steamer reaches the entrance of Glacier 
Bay straggling lumps of ice appear dazzling white, and 
resting like blocks of marble on the polished sea, which is 
scarcely moved by an imperceptible swell pulsating through 
the Sound. The sun is warm and grateful, and the sky 
without a cloud, excepting those which stretch like filmy 
gauze from peak to peak, the temperature perhaps 600 in 
the shade. Half of the passengers have never seen an ice 
cake and they are eager with excitement to get near the 
polar videttes which are drifting by, away off under the 
land. The course of the vessel bears gradually toward the 
headland at the entrance, and the lumps of ice become more 
numerous. Bevies of ladies rush to the taffrail as one of 
them passes close under the countei;. Presently a passing 
promontory opens out a large iceberg of fantastic shape, 
and then another, tall and stately, with turrets like a castle. 
Sea gulls, hagden and shags hover about their gleaming 
walls like snow flakes in the air, or sit in solemn ranks 
upon the battlements. Objects change positions constantly 
and countermarch across the field of view. Fancies dis- 




THE HOME OF THE ICEBERGS. 539 

solve before they are scarcely formed. Reflections from 
the land appear in darksome shades across the water, and 
from the looming icebergs in tremulous. semblances, ghost- 
like and pallid. The scenic effects, at once so magical and 
duplicated everywhere, grow momentarily more weird. 

Meantime the steamer slacks her headway, slows down, 
and presently with a sullen thud lays alongside a small 
berg, whose rounded apex peers up over the dead eyes into 
the head of the companion way, looking for all the world 
as if it was going to come aboard. All the curious ladies 
pipe a combination scream, and make for the door of the 
Captain's stateroom. Then the quarter boat is swung out 
of the davits and lowered away, and the steward and the 
mate and the sailors tackle the glistening harlequin with 
pikes and axes, and, after much chopping and manoeuvring 
with bights and bowlines, contrive to split off a big lump, 
and hoist it inboard with a sling. This supply is for the 
ice chest. How pure and cold and beautiful and trans- 
parent it is ! How precious to passengers who have been 
for two days stinted, and to the steward whose meat was 
likely to spoil ! The chunks cut off seem colorless, but 
the central core of the berg itself glows like a great blue 
eye, sentient and expressive, with that sort of poetical light 
termed " spirituelle." You never tire of gazing into the 
translucent depths of the glacier ice, whose radiance emu- 
lates the blue and green of beryl, torquoise, chrisophas and 
emerald. You gaze into them as into the arcana of the 
empyrean, with some vague awe of their mysterious source, 
and the intangible causes which gave them birth. And the 
grand icebergs ! — so cold, yet so majestic, so solid yet so 
unsubstantial ; so massive, yet so ethereal ! — whose bast- 
ions and battlements are mighty enough to shiver an onset, 
and yet so volatile that the warmth of wooing spring will 
dissipate them into vapor. Children of the Arctic frost 
conceived in the upper air, inspired by the effulgent sun, 
and moulded in the bowels of intensest congelation, the 
human mind cannot contemplate them without a sympa- 

I thetic inspiration, for their duplex entity is so like our 

I combination of soul and bodv! 

j A stiff breeze was blowing as we entered Glacier Bay, 

' and the breath came bitterly cold from off the ice field. 



54:0 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

The bay was filled with floating bergs and floes, and the 
temperature dropped quite rapidly to 46°. The ruffled 
surface of the water assumed that peculiar tinge of cold 
steel gray which landscapes wear in winter. The atmos- 
phere put on a sympathetic hue and grew perceptibly denser. 
Snow covered all the peaks, and the Mer de Glace spread 
out before us like a great white apron on the lap of the 
mountain. It is twelve miles from the entrance to the 
head of the bay, and over the entire landscape nature 
seemed dead. Not a living thing appeared — not a gull on 
the wing or a seal in the gloomy fiords. Desolation reigned 
throughout, for there was nothing to sustain life. The 
creation was all new, and the glacier was still at work grad- 
ually preparing it for the abode of organic life. Darkness 
only was needed to relegate us to the primordium of chaos. 
But the sun was bright on the distant peaks, which enclosed 
the bay on all sides, and their intangible, ghostly outlines, 
scarcely distinguished from the fleecy clouds about them, 
seemed indefinitely beyond the convex line of earth. Sel- 
dom is mundane gloom and supernal glory contrasted by 
such startling juxtaposition. 

As the steamer neared the glacier, speculations began 
respecting the height of its perpendicular front, but no one 
guessed higher than the vessel's topmast. It was only 
when she lay anchored in ninety fathoms of water, close 
under the ice, and not a quarter of a mile from shore, that 
spectators began to conceive the magnitude of the glacier 
and all its surroundings. The glacier wall overhung us 
with its mighty majesty, and we seemed none too far away 
to escape the constantly cleaving masses which dropped 
from its face with deafening detonations. The foam which 
gathered from the impetus of the plunges surged upward 
fully two-thirds of the height of the cliff, and the resulting 
swell tossed the large steamer like a toy, and rolled up in 
breakers of surf upon the beach. The vessel was in actual 
danger from the fragments of ice which occasionally thump- 
ed against her sides. Indeed, her wheels were afterward 
badly mashed in making her way out of the bay into open 
water. A paddle wheel steamer is unfit for such navigation, 
and I suppose a propeller will be used hereafter. 

The glacier wall is by no means smooth, but is seamed 



THE HOME OF THE ICEBERGS. 541 

and riven in every part by clefts and fissures. It is hol- 
lowed into caverns and grottoes, hung with massive stal- 
actites, and fashioned into pinnacles and domes. Every 
section and configuration has its heart of translucent blue 
or green, interlaced or bordered by fretted frost-work of 
intensest white ; so that the appearance is at all times 
gnome-like and supernatural. No portion of the wall ever 
seems to pitch forward all at once in 9 sheer fall from top 
to bottom, but sections split off from the buttresses, or 
drop from midway or the top. The apparent slowness of 
their descent is sublimity itself, because it carries with it the 
measure of its stupendous vastness and inappreciable height. 
Impressions of magnitude and majesty, I opine, are not 
conveyed so much by any relative standard of comparison 
as by the degree with which we come within the range 
of their power or influence. One must realize before he 
can appreciate, and he cannot realize fully until he becomes 
to a certain extent a participator. Proximity shudders and 
trembles at what remoteness and impunity views with dis- 
passionate equanimity. I cannot conceive how any one 
can sit close by and contemplate without emotion the stu- 
pendous throes which give birth to the icebergs, attended 
with detonations like explosions of artillery and reverber- 
ations of thunder across the sky, and the mighty wreckage 
which follows each convulsion. He would hardly be ap- 
palled at the crack of doom. I say we cannot estimate their 
magnitude by contiguous objects, because they are all un- 
familiar. The steamer itself, although considerable in size 
seems like an atom. As for the rest, the fragments of ice 
which are seen stranded along the beach, looking no larger 
than blocks, measure twelve feet high. Those lumps drift- 
ing past. yonder fiord are icebergs higher than our top- 
mast. The other side of the bay which, we imagine, one 
could swim across with ease, is five miles off. The ice 
ledge itself is four hundred feet high. The peaks in the 
distance, forty miles away, are sixteen thousand feet above 
the level of the sea. There is the Devil's Thumb, looking 
no higher than the Washington monument, a sheer mono- 
lith six thousand feet high, with faces almost perpendicular. 
The timber line around the feet of the distant ranges 
resembles a cincture of moss, 



542 PKOGEESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

From a pinnacle of elevation overlooking the Muir ice 
field, which is obtained by an arduous half-day's climb, 
although some expected to accomplish it in an hour, one 
one can count no less than fifteen tributary glacial streams, 
any one of which is as large as the great Rhone glacier 
ouer which European tourists go into ecstacies. Drawn 
from the inexhaustible but annually diminishing accumu- 
lations of snow which fill the mountain valleys to a depth 
of at least 2,000 feet, these separate streams of plastic con- 
gelation unite like the strands of a rope to form the irre- 
sistible current of the Muir. The surface of the glacier is 
not uniformly level and smooth like a boulevard. It has 
its drifts and dykes, its cascades, riffs and rapids like any 
unfrozen river. In the immediate front and extending a 
mile or more back, its whole surface is the most rugged 
formation imaginable. It is utterly impossible for any liv- 
ing creature to traverse it, being in fact a compacted aggre- 
gation of wedge-shaped and rounded cones of solid ice, 
capped by discolored and disintegrating snow. But away 
back in the mountain passes it is easily traversed with 
sledges or snow-shoes. Indians cross the divide at sundry 
places all along the coast from the Stikeen to Copper River. 

Looking afar off into the blank perspective the icy re- 
enforcements, which pour out of the mountain fastnesses 
like gathering clans, seem compacted into indefinable fleecy 
masses, while in the immediate van they pass in review in 
serried phalanxes of cowled and hooded monks twenty feet 
tall, wrapped in dirty toques and capuchins, snow-powdered, 
and bedraggled, and pressing forward with never ceasing 
march, as if all the lifelong denizens of the Gothard and 
St. Bernard had set out at once to temper their frigid 
tongues in the tepid waters which are warmed by the Kuro- 
siwo. In other places, where the mer de glace is level like 
a plain, its surface is seamed with deep crevasses and 
slashed with rifts and chasms whose sides and walls deep 
down for sixty feet are dazzling blue. Thus the incipient 
bergs are split and carved and chiselled and prepared for 
their final segregation, so that they will break off easily 
when they reach the front. Meantime the sub-glacial river 
which is flowing underneath buoys up the ice and floats it 
to the sea. 



THE HOME OF THE ICEBEEG. 543 

It is estimated, by soundings made as near as vessels 
dare approach, that it is fully eight hundred feet deep. 
The water flows beneath the glacier just as it does under 
the deposit of a snow-laden roof, forming icicles at the 
eaves. To this mighty channel, between its flanking slopes 
of rock, the glacier is at last restricted. Evidences are 
abundant that it is continually receding. They are scored 
high up on the granite walls by the adamantine ice. They 
are attested by the stranded debris of the lateral moraines, 
and recorded in the written narratives of Vancouver, who 
speaks of his inability to enter this bay in 1793, which is 
now navigable for twelve miles inland. Once the ice field 
was level with the distant mountain tojDS ; now it has set- 
led, with melting and thaw, until the peaks are far above 
the surface. The annual accumulations are dissolving and 
diminishing faster than they can be replenished, and cen- 
turies hence snow will no longer be perpetual in the val- 
leys. The warm hills will throw off their useless mantle, 
and nothing will remain of the Muir glacial except a goodly 
stream and some tributary rills leaping w-ith a musical ca- 
dence from the spring melting among the peaks. The deep 
and cavernous gully which now retains the sub-glacial out- 
flow of the ice field will become an estuary of the ocean, 
and the legend of the Muir will be illustrated in the parti- 
colored tapestry which lines the verdant slopes and mead- 
ows with flowers and foliage. Perhaps some goodly village 
will nestle at the terminal moraine, as it now does in the 
Matterhorn among the Alps. Then all the soil deposited 
in the valleys and upon the hillsides will tell us of the wear 
and tear which even now is grinding down the mountains, 
of the denudation, pulverizing, levelling, and filling up of 
which the glacier has been the potent agent since the world 
began. 

Glaciers always carry on their frozen tide great boulders 
and masses of stones and rock wrenched from the mountain 
sides, just as rivers carry logs and drift. Whatever is not 
deposited along its course is carried out to sea by the ice- 
bergs to strew the ocean bottom, precisely as we find them 
on our Western plains, where they were deposited when 
the salt waves covered their unlimited expanse. Some 
of the lateral moraines (as the dry beds of spent glacial 




544 TEOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

outlets are termed) are still underlaid by an ice stratum 
200 feet thick, which became detached from the main body 
of the glacier many decades since. It will take a half century 
to melt it. Clambering over these is no child's play. Vis- 
itors should be prepared with waterproof angler's wading 
trousers and alpenstocks and hobnail shoes, leaving all-top 
coats and superfluous wraps where they can be resumed 
after the jaunt is finished. Rubber shoes or boots are 
liable to be torn to shreds. There are spots, looking like 
solid earth, which often prove to be mud holes of uncertain 
depth. Boulders are everywhere — boulders, ice, and slimy 
silt, or till, and nothing else. Bottomless crevasses head 
you off jat every turn. To land dry-shod from the boats is 
not easy, on account of the surf. 

Altogether, it is astonishing what a minimum of distance 
or altitude one can accomplish with a maximum of clamber- 
ing and perspiration, even with the chill wind blowing 
fresh; for every object sought is at least five times the 
distance guessed at, and the road is hard, indeed, to travel. 
Nevertheless, the ladies are generally foremost, and old 
Swiss explorers will distance all the rest. 

It is a consolation and a comfort, when on the apex of 
the moraine, with the polar desolation all around, and every 
resource of succor or deliverance clean cut off, to look far 
down upon the little object which is our only hope — the 
steamer, which seems an atom more than ever — and know 
that although the bay be filled with floes, there is open 
water and safety and genial climate just beyond. By some 
trivial accident, possible enough, a party of excursionists 
might be left in a situation almost as hopeless as tl>e hap- 
less sufferers of the Lena. The perils are precisely the 
same, modified only by the relative accessibility of succor, 
and therefore too much stress cannot be laid upon the 
stanchness of the vessels sent into the ice. 

. Quite recently the citizens of St. Paul instituted an ice 
palace and illuminated it with electric lights, and all the 
heavenly planets lent their aid to make it resplendent. At 
night when the full moon shone upon its crystal walls 
and battlements, and their translucence was reflected, it 
looked more like an ethereal creation than one of sub- 
stance. It was stately in its magnificence and overwhelm- 



I 



DR. HAYEs' RETURN TO BOSTON. 545 

ing in its supernatural majesty. But what shall compare 
with the Muir glacier when the moonlight is upon it, and 
all the phosphorescence of the Pacific Ocean beats in bil- 
lows of liquid fiame against its toppling, crumbling walls ? 
when lunar rainbows are tossed in air against the mounting 
columns of foam that are shivered into spray by the plung- 
ing mountains of ice ? In the everlasting tumult, and whirl, 
and crash of explosions which seem to split the glacier 
itself from front to mountain source, when nothing at all 
takes definite shape upon the ghostly interchange of lights 
and shades, one can imagine only the revels of chaos and 
the scroll rolled back to the genesis of creation. 



Dr. Hayes' Return to Boston. 



The summer of 1861 was passed by Dr. Hayes in the 
conduct of explorations and surveys in the immediate 
vicinity of Port Foulke, Hartstene Bay, which Capt. Nares 
characterizes as the best winter station on the North 
coast of Greenland. The Eskimos, to the number of 80, 
joined the party, living in snow-houses about the harbor, 
and hunting the walrus and the seal. On the 14th of 
July, the schooner, freed from the ice, sailed from her 
winter harbor, and reached the west coast, en route for 
home. Entering Whale Sound, Hayes delineated the shore 
line of that inlet, which he named Inglefield Gulf, out of 
respect to the navigator who first penetrated its waters. 
He continued down the coast, from Whale Sound, and 
obtained dredgings from the various points visited, plants 
from several localities, skins and skeletons of the different 
mammals, skins of many of the Arctic birds, and also skulls 
of Eskimos. Over 200 reindeer were captured by his 
hunters. Varieties of walrus and seal were found in 
abundance. Continuing southward, he surveyed the 
Eastern coast of North Baffin Bay, from Cape Alexander 
to Granville Bay, for a distance of 600 miles, and the 
western side for a distance of 1300 miles. He then 
entered Melville Bay, bored through the " pack " for 150 
miles, to the southern water, and reached Upernavik, Aug. 
14, and Disco, Island, Sept. i. The voyage from Godhaven 
southward was boisterous, and at Halifax the ship put 
into port for repairs. Leaving Plalifax Oct. 14, Dr. Hayes 



646 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

arrived with his ship at Boston Oct. 23d, 1861, after an 
absence of 15 months and 13 days. — He visited Greenland 
a third time in 1869, in the steam yacht " Panther." 
His narrative of this visit was published under the title, 
" The Land of Desolation." Again his wonder was ex- 
cited by the mighty glaciers and icebergs, and the sites 
of the colonies of the old Northmen which he visited. 
The " Panther " sailed a thousand miles along the Green- 
land coast, penetrated the ice packs of Melviik Bay, and 
then returned home. Dr. Hayes died in 187 1. 



ARCTIC VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF DR. 

CHARLES F. HALL. 

Dr. Hall's First Expedition in the whale-ship 
" George Henry," owned by Williams & Haven, 
FROM New London Conn., May 29, i860. — His 
Second Expedition in the whaler " Monticello," 
Captain E. A. Chapel from New London, July i, 
1864. — Traces of Franklin's Men. — Hall's Third 
OR North Polar Expdeition, under the auspices 
of the United States Government, in the steamer 
" Polaris," from New London, July 3, 187 1. 

Shortly after Dr. Hayes left Boston for his Arctic 
cruise, Capt. Charles F. Hall, accompanied by the 
Eskimo Kud-la-go, who had come to the United States 
during the previous autumn in the whaler " George 
Henry," left New London, Conn., for his first Arctic voy- 
age. He was given a free passage to Northumberland 
Inlet in the whaling barque "George Henry," owned by 
Williams & Haven, of New London. His outfit consisted 
of a boat 2S feet long; beam, 7 feet; depth, 29 1-2 
inches. He also took a sledge, 1200 lbs. of pemmican 
and meat biscuit, some ammunition and a few nautical in- 
struments and thermometers. The ship sailed from New 
New London May 29, i860, but did not arrive in Hol- 
steinborg. Southern Greenland, until July 7. Before en- 
tering the harbor, in lat. 63^^ N., Captain Hall's fellow- 
voyager, Kud-la-go, died. After remaining here 17 days 
the barque sailed for Northumberland Inlet, where she 
anchored at Ookooleen, or Cornelius Grinnell Bay, Aug. 8, 



DR. CHARLSS P. HALL*S EXPEDITION. 547 

The ship encountered at sea heavy snow-storms and ice- 
bergs, one of which appeared to Hall's fancy as " the 
ruins of a lofty dome," then, " as an elephant with two 
large circular towers on his back, and Corinthian spires 
springing out boldly from the broken mountains on which 
he had placed his feet." Again, it was " like a lighthouse 
on the top of the piled-up rocks, white as the driven 
snow," especially when the sun, after being wrapped in 
clouds for nearly a week, burst forth in all his splendor, 
" bathing with a flood of fire this towering iceberg light" 
house." Many natives visited the barque, and among 
them was the wife of Kud-la-go, who shed bitter tears for 
her husband's death, and was deeply affected by a sight 
of the treasures which he had gathered in the States, for 
her and his little child. 

Aug. 16, the whalers sailed for a harbor on the west 
coast of Davis Strait, to which Hall gave the name of 
Cyrus W. Field Bay. On the opposite side of the bay, he 
saw some traces of the landings of the expedition under 
Sir Martin Frobisher, 300 years before. Here he lost his 
boat in a furious gale which wrecked the whaler " Res- 
cue," and dashed the " Georgiana " on the lee shore, and 
was obliged to confine his explorations within compara- 
tively narrow limits. 

It had been Hall's purpose, when he set out on this ex- 
pedition, to learn the language of the natives, to conform 
to their habits of life so far as would be necessary to 
harden him for the rigors of Arctic weather, to live 
among them, gain their friendship, and awaken their inter- 
est in the fate of Franklin's men. He thus hoped to ac- 
complish his purpose of rescuing those who might still be 
alive. But his westward journeyings were prevented by 
the loss of his boat, and he confined his attention to a 
study of the people, to observations of natural phenomena, 
and to the location of the settlements attempted in the 
sixteenth century (1556-1559), by Frobisher. — During the 
winter the ice was solid around the ship, Jan. 5, 186 1, the 
temperature was 60'' below the freezing point, but not 
uncomfortable. Between Jan. 10, 1861, and May, 1862, 
Hall made several journeys on dog sledges, guided by 
" Joe," his wife '* Hannah," and another Innuit woman. 



548 PROGRESS o-e^ arctic discovery. 

His researches were interesting, but shed no further light 
on the geography of the Polar regions. See " Arctic Re- 
searches," C. F. Hall, Harper Bros., 1865. We quote 
from this volume the natives' mode of building an " igloo," 
or house of ice and snow : — " They first sounded or ' pros- 
pected ' the snow with their seal-spears to find the most 
suitable for that purpose. Then, one commenced sawing 
out snow-blocks, using a hand-saw, an implement now in 
great demand among the Innuits for that purpose ; the 
blocks having been cut from the space the igloo was to 
occupy, the other Innuit proceeded to lay the foundation 
tier, which consisted of seventeen blocks, each three feet 
long, t8 inches wide, and 6 inches thick. Then com' 
menced the spiraling^ allowing each tier to fall in, dome- 
shaped, till the whole was completed, and the key-stone 
of the dome or arch dropped into its place, the builders 
being within during the operation. When the igloo was 
finished, tw^o Innuits were walled in ; then a square open- 
ing was cut at the rear of the dwelling, and through this 
Smith and I passed some snow-blocks, which we had 
sawed out. These Sharkey and Koojesse chipped or 
minced with their snow-knives, while Tu-nuk-der-lien and 
Jennie trod the fragments into a hard bed of snow, form- 
ing the couch or the dais of the igloo. This done, the 
women quickly erected on the right and left the fire- 
stands, and soon had fires blazing, and snow melting with 
which to slake our thirst. Then the usual shrubs, kept 
for that purpose, were evenly spread on the snow of the 
bed-place over which was laid the canvas of my tent ; and 
over all were spread tuktoo furs forming the bed. When 
the work had been thus far advanced, the main door was 
cut out of the crystal white wall, and the walrus meat and 
others were passed in. Then both openings were sealed up, 
and all within were made happy in the enjoyment of com- 
forts that would hardly be dreamed of by those at home." 
The Innuits are such tremendous gormandizers, that 
Hall exclaims : " What monstrous stomachs these Eski- 
mos have ! " The quantity (of whale meat) taken on one 
day seemed enough for many. Before this whale had 
been brought alongside the " George Henry," they had 
eaten twenty square feet of the raw skin ! " 




PQI.AR BEAR AND THE ESQUIMATJIf, 



t)E. hall's second expedition. 649 

August 9, the whaling season having ended, the 
" George- Henry " sailed for New London, Conn., reaching 
that city Sept. 13, 1862. "Joe " and his wife "Hannah," 
with their child and their seal-dog, accompanied Hall to 
the United States, expecting to return with him in a future 
expedition to King William's Land. Hall had been ab- 
sent two years and three and a half months. He at once 
planned a second expedition, in the firm belief that there 
were Innuits still living " who knew all about the mys- 
terious termination of the Franklin Expedition." 

Hall's Second Arctic Expedition. — July i, 1864, 
Hall, accompanied by " Joe " and " Hannah," sailed for 
the Arctic seas in the whaler " Monticello," accepting 
again a free passage from the firm of Haven & Chapell, of 
New London, Conn. Entering Hudson Strait July 28, the 
ship made for " Resolution Island." She encountered 
much floating ice, hummocks and packs, through which 
she forced a way. Walruses basked on the ice or swam 
in the sea, and on Aug. 3, a fat Polar bear, 8 feet, 5 1-2 
inches long, and about 1,100 lbs. in weight, was shot by 
Ebierbing (" Joe ") with his rifle, at 50 yards distance. 
The same day, this Eskimo shot and killed, after twelve 
shots, another bear. The ship anchored, Aug. 20, at 
" Depot Island," in lat. 63^ 47' N. Ion. 89^ 51" W. Here 
Hall engaged another assistant, Mr. Rudolph, a whaler ; 
on the 29th he sailed in the ' Monticello's ' tender, " Helen 
F," for Wager River, with his three companions, en 
route to Repulse Bay and King William Land, where he 
proposed to spend several years in search of traces of 
Franklin's crew. Reaching a small harbor, he hauled his 
little boat " Sylvia " ashore, and encamped in lat. 64*^ 35' 
N., Ion. 87^ 33' W. The party in their little craft now 
coasted a shallow stream called "Welcome," for a few 
miles, and then met Onela and other natives who had 
stories to tell about Franklin's lost men. On the assur- 
ance of the natives that he could not reach Repulse Bay 
that season. Hall decided to pass the winter at his present 
tenting place, Noo-wook. Sept. 18 (1864) Hall's Journal 
contains this entry : " It has been moving day with us, 
and an interesting picture might have been seen — the 



550 PROGRESS OS* AECflC DlSCOVERV. 

Innuits and the two " Kod-Iu-nas" (white men), with packs 
on our backs, tramping along towards our destined new 
home. Old Mother Ook-bar-loo had for her pack a mon- 
strous roll of reindeer-skins, which was topped with ket- 
tles and pans and various little instruments used by 
Innuits in their domestic affairs, while in her hand 
she carried spears and poles and other things that 
need not be mentioned here. Ar-too-a had for his 
pack his tent and pole, his gun and et ceteras in his 
hand. His wife had a huge roll of reindeer-skins and 
other things, much of the character of Ook-bar-loo's. 
The dogs had saddle-bags, and topping them were panni- 
kins and such varied things as are always to be found in 
Innuit use. Ebierbing had for his pack our tent and 
some five or six tent-poles, while in his hand he carried 
his gun. Charley Rudolph had a large roll of reindeer- 
skins, carrying also numerous tent-poles. Too-koo-litoo 
had deer-skins, and in her hands various things. I car- 
ried on my shoulder two rifles and one gun, each in cov- 
ers ; under one arm my compass tripod, and in one hand 
my little basket, which held my pet Ward chronometer, 
and in the other my trunk of instruments." 

Hall built an igloo^ and prepared to pass the winter. 
^* I exchanged," he says, " tent for snow-house, and have 
been all the while as comfortable "as I ever have been in 
my life. You would be quite interested in taking a walk 
through my winter-quarters ; one main igloo for myself and 
Eskimo friends, and three others, all joined to the main, 
for store-houses. A low, crooked, passage-way of 50 feet 
in length leads into our dwelling. We fully conformed, 
after a little, to the habits of the natives, though nause- 
ated, at times, by their uncleanliness. The Innuits 
amused themselves with playing dominoes, checkers, the 
cup and ball, with singing and playing on their key-low- 
tik, which is made of a piece of deer-skin stretched over a 
hoop of wood or whalebone. Harpooning the walrus was 
a frequent diversion. One was killed which weighed 
2.200 lbs. These animals are very savage and tenacious 
of life. Hall says : " What a horrible looking creature a 
walrus is, especially in the face 1 It looks wicked, detest- 
ably bad. * * * A hard death did this one die. He 




*' ^ l)e(n,m .... v)(is sunk deep mto the earth," Sfc, — Page 



^ 




HUNTING THE WALRUS. 



THE WALRUS AURORAS. 551 

fought desperately, but steel and sinewy arms, under the 
control of cool, courageous hearts, finally conquered. As 
often as he came up to blow he was met by the lance of 
the harpooner, who thrust it quick and deep into the heart 
and churned away until the walrus withdrew by diving 
under the ice and flippering away to the length of the 
line." The walrus feeds largely on clams, ^ and great 
quantities of these are often found whole, but without the 
shells, in its paunch. 

The party suffered much during the winter for lack of 
provisions, and of seal-blubber for light and heat, as their 
hunts for this useful polar animal were not often success- 
ful until April. It was not until the beginning of May, 
1865, that they were able to reach the Wager River, lat. 
65" 19', nine months after their supposed landing on that 
stream. Thermometer 42^ below freezing point. In June 
the warm season came on rapidly, and the tupiks (skin 
tents) were set up in place of snow-huts for shelter. Dur- 
ing the summer Hall's party harpooned a large whale. 
They feasted greedily on the flesh, and 1,500 lbs. of bone 
were deposited securely by Hall to await the return of the 
whalers in the following fall, and to be sold for the main- 
tenance of his expedition. Sept. 4th, 1865, Hall en- 
camped for the winter on the banks of North Pole River, 
near the Fort Hope of Dr. Rae. Deer were numerous, 
and nearly 150 were killed and cached for his winter's sup- 
ply and his long sledge journey the next season. After 
Jan. 27, 1866, none appeared until the end of March, 
" when the does that were with young began their migra- 
tion." 

Speaking of the auroras seen in November, February 
and March, Hall asks : " Why is it that the aurora is al- 
most always seen in the southern heavens ? Why do we 
not see the same north of u^ * * * The aurora is gen- 
erally not far distant — ofttimes within a few hundred feet 
— and continues within a stone's-throw of one's head. 
* * * The most distant displays do not exceed ten or 
fifteen miles." If Hall had been in the parallel of 50^^ to 
62^ he would have seen the borealis as often to the north 
I as to the south. But further north auroras are seldom 
i seen except in the south. He describes one that he saw 



552 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Feb. 6 : " The rays were all vertical and dancing right 
merrily. The whole belt was remarkably low down, that 
is, apparently not more than fifty or seventy-five feet from 
the earth, and along the base of it, from end to end, was a 
continuous stream of prismatic fires, which, with the 
golden rays of light jetting upward and racing backward 
and forward — some dancing merrily one way, while others 
did the same from the opposite direction — made one of 
the most gorgeous, soul-inspiring displays I ever wit- 
nessed." March lo, the display across the southern hor- 
izon was from east-southeast to west- southwest. "The 
eastern half was in the form of an arch, with vertical rays, 
while the western half was convolved in such vast glowing 
circles that nearly a quarter of the heavens seemed on 
fire. The eastern half consisted of bosses or birch broom- 
heads, springing into life and dancing to and fro along the 
vertex of the highest rays forming the arch. To each 
broom-head was a complete nucleus, well-defined, about 
which the rays, inclined about 45 deg. to the east, played 
most fantastically. One was quite alone in its glory, for 
not only had it the embellishments of its sister broom- 
heads, but golden hair radiated from its head in all direc- 
tions." 

March 30, 1866, with the temperature at 50° below 
freezing, Hall again advanced westward on his sledge 
towards King William Land. His route was up the North 
Pole River, north 50° east. April 13 his friend and 
helper, Too-koo-litoo (Hannah) was distracted by the 
death of her baby. The party travelled not over two or 
three miles a day, reaching Cape Weynton, on the south 
side of Colville Bay, about April 28th. The natives 
showed him relics of Franklin, recounted the loss of one 
of his ships in the ice, and the sufferings and starvation of 
his men. Hall obtained a •umber of relics, a fork and 
spoons, having on them the fish-head crest of Franklin. 
By Sept., several whalers arrived, and he placed on board 
the " Ansel Gibbs " 1,500 lbs. of whalebone, to be sold on 
the return of the ship to the United States. Feb. 7, '67, he 
set out on a sledge journey with only three natives, to Ig- 
loo-lik, to buy dogs for his westward journey. He se- 
cured the dogs, but could not find men before March 23, 



TRACiES OF PEANKLIn's MEN. 553 

1868. But instead of going to King William Land, he 
was diverted by the natives in search of white men seen. 
by them three years before on the southern shores of the 
Straits of Fury and Hecla. His search proved illusory, 
and the principal result of this journey was a survey of the 
northwest coast of Melville Peninsula, at and below the 
western outlets of Fury and Hecla Strait, and some un- 
important discoveries of new inlets, bays and lakes. Dur- 
ing the winter of 1868, provisions were plenty, especially 
walrus, seal and deer. By March 21, he and Joe had 
dried nearly 200 pounds of venison, and fitted them- 
selves with new furs. On the 23d, accompanied by five 
native men, and five females. Hall again started for King 
William Land. April 18, they arrived at Simpson's Lake 
in lat. 68° 30' 22'' N., Ion. 91** 31' W. May 30, they came 
across natives, who showed them numerous relics of 
Franklin — one, a large silver spoon with an eel's head 
crest. Two skeletons were found. These were thought 
by the natives to be remains of Crozier's party of 105 men 
from the abandoned ships whom they saw journeying 
down the west coast near Cape Herschel, with two sleds, 
towards Repulse Bay, late in July, 1848. The loss of the 
party was ascribed to lack of condensed provisions for 
their land journey, and of native guides. 

Hall now turned his face towards Repulse Bay. The 

party killed seventy-nine musk-ox on their way back. 

Thus after sledge journeyings numbering more than 4,000 

miles, and five years' stay in the frozen seas. Hall made 

his preparations to return home. While waiting for a 

whaler he got ready nearly 800 pounds of bone from the 

whale cached the previous year. On the sale of this bone 

and his musk-ox skins he hoped to retrieve part of the 

cost of the long expedition. At last the " Ansell Gibbs " 

of New Bedford, Mass.,- appeared, and took Hall, Joe, 

Hannah, and her adopted child, on board. Aug. 29th the 

I whaler left the Welcome, passed through Hudson's Bay 

I and Straits, and arrived at New Bedford Sept. 26, 1869. 

I Here Hall made the last entry in his journal of this voy- 

I age : " How thankful to high Heaven ought my poor 

i heart to be for the blessed privilege of again placing my 

i foot upon the land of my country ! " 



554 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Hall's Third Expedition. — Through the influence of 
Grant, an appropriation of $50,000 was made by Congress, 
and approved by the President, July 12, 1870, to fit out an 
expedition to the North Pole under the command of Hall. 
A government steamer, the " Periwinkle," but named by 
Hall the " Polaris," was assigned to this service by the 
Secretary of the Navy, with a crew of fourteen persons 
and the following officers and scientific corps : C. F. 
Hall, commander ; S. O. Budington, sailing master ; 
George E. Tyson, assistant navigator ; H. C. Chester, 
mate ; Wm. Morton, 2nd mate ; Emil Schumann, chief 
engineer ; A. A. Odell, assistant engineer ; N. J. Coffin, 
carpenter ; Emil Bessels, surgeon, chief of scientific staff ; 
R. W. D. Bryan, astronomer ; Frederick Meyer, mete- 
orologist. Hannah and Joe were again Hall's companions. 

The " Polaris " was launched at the Washington navy 
yard July 25, 187 1, fully equipped at the Brooklyn navy 
yard, and sailed for the Polar regions from New London, 
July 3. She was provisioned for two and a half years, and 
additional supplies were to be sent to Holsteinborg, or to 
Disco, by a transport. The " Polaris " anchored in the 
harbor of Fiskernaes, Greenland, July 27, at Holsteinborg 
July 31, and at Godhaven Aug. 4. Here she was joined 
by the transport " Congress," Capt. H. H. Davenport, 
U. S. N., with additional supplies which were deposited in 
the government storehouse at Godhaven. Aug. 19th, the 
Polaris anchored at Upernavik, 225 miles from Godhaven, 
which she had made in 33 1-2 hours. Here Hans Hen- 
drik was hired as dog-driver, etc., at fifty Danish dollars 
per month. Being now abundantly supplied with dogs 
and other essentials for Arctic travel. Hall pushed north- 
ward, and sighted Cape York Aug. 25th, after a rapid run. 
On the 27th her course was arrested by solid packs of ice, 
but she continued to bore a way through these ice barriers 
until, on the 30th, she could go no farther. The ice ex- 
tended from shore to shore, a solid mass. Lat. 82 ^ 26' 
N. The " Polaris " drifted back with the current, and 
was secured to a large berg. Casting loose from the berg, 
and failing to gain a harbor on the eastern shore of Ken- 
nedy Channel, the " Polaris " improved every opening in 
the ice, and made 12 miles west and north in 4 3-4 hours. 




*' MinffJed howls dnd screams were heard," — Page 



THANK GOD HARBOB. 555 

The limit of her advance was 82 ^ 16' N. Sept. 14, she 
drifted to the south 48 miles in a direct line, all the while 
dangerously encompassed with ice driven by the wind. 
But on the 4th a driving northeast wind opened a passage 
through which the ship forced her way to the eastern 
shore and anchored in ten fathoms of water. A huge ice- 
berg, 450 feet long, 300 feet broad, 181 feet deep, 60 feet 
being above the water, was named by Hall Providence 
Berg, as it afforded permanent security to the vessel. 
Long. 61 ° 44' W. The coast was covered with moun- 
tains running south and east, 900 to 1,400 feet high. — Oct. 
12, Hall, accompanied by Mate Chester, Joe and Hans, 
started on a sledge trip, the object being to select the 
des^ route for a spring excursion to the Pole. Nothing was 
discovered to encourage his purpose. No cattle were 
found, and except a few lichens, no signs of vegetation, 
until the i8th, on the top of a high cape, different species 
of flowering plants and grasses were seen all the way up 
the mountain. Oct. 21 he began to retrace his steps, and 
on the 24th sighted the masts of the " Polaris." On the 
20th he deposited in a cairn his last dispatch to the Sec- 
retary of the Navy, which we copy in full : — 

^^^^ Sixth Snow-House Encampment, Cape Brevoort, 

Oct. 21, 1871 

North-side Entrance to Newman's Bay. 

To the Honorable Secretary of the U. S. Navy, George M. Robe- 
son : — 

"Myself and party, consisting of Mr. Chester, first-mate ; my 
Eskimo, Joe, and Greenland Eskimo, Hans, left the ship in winter 
quarters, Thank God Harbor, lat. 8i°38' North, Ion. 61^44' West at 
meridian of October loth, on a journey by two sledges, drawn by 
fourteen dogs, to discover, if possible, a feasible route inland for my 
sledge journey next spring to reach the North Pole, purposing to 
adopt such a route, if found better than a route over the old floes 
and hummocks of the strait which I have denominated Robeson's 
Strait, after the honorable Secretary of the United States Navy. 

'' We arrived on the evening of October 17, having discovered a 
lake and a river on our way; the latter, our route, a most serpentine 
one, which led us on to this bay fifteen minutes (^iles) distant from 
here southward and eastward. 

" From the top of an iceberg, near the mouth of said river, we 
could see that this bay, which I have named after Rev, Dr, Newman, 




556 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

extended to the highland eastward and southward of that position 
about fifteen miles, making the extent of Newman's Bay, from its 
headland or cape, full thirty miles. 

** The South Cape is high, bold, and a noble headland. I have 
named it Sumner Headland, after Hon. Charles Sumner, the orator 
and U. S. Senator ; and the North Cape, Brevoort Cape, after I. 
Carson Brevoort, a strong friend to Arctic discoveries. 

" On arriving here we found the mouth of Newman's Bay open 
water, having numerous seals in it, this open water making close 
both to Summer Headland and Cape Brevoort, and the ice of Robe- 
son's Strait on the move, thus debarring all possible chance of extend- 
ing our journey on the ice op the strait. 

''The mountainous land (none other about here) will not admit 
of our journeying farther north ; and as the time of our expected 
absence was understood to be for two weeks, we commence our 
return to-morrow morning. To-day we are storm-bound to this our 
sixth encampment. 

" From Cape Brevoort we can see land extending on the west side 
of the strait to the north 22^^ West, and distance about seventy miles, 
thus making land we discover as far as lat. 83*^5' North. 

" There is appearance of land farther north, and extending more 
easterly than what I have just noted, but a peculiar dark nimbus 
cloud hangs over what seems may be land, and prevents my making 
a full determination. 

"August 30, the ' Polaris' made her greatest northing, lat. 82** 29' 
North ; but after several attempts to get her farther north, she became 
beset, when we were drifted down to about lat. Si"' 30' When an 
opening occurred, we steamed out of the pack and made harbor Sep- 
tember 3, where the ' Polaris ' is (corner of manuscript here burned 
off). Up to the time I and my party left the ship all have been well, 
and continue with high hopes of accomplishing our great mission. 

" We find this a much warmer country than we expected. From 
Cape Alexander, the mountains on either side of the Kennedy Chan- 
nel and Robeson's Strait, we found entirely bare of snow and ice, with 
the exception of a glacier that we saw covering, about lat. 80° 30', east 
side the Strait, and extending in an east-northeast direction as far as 
can be seen from the mountains by Polaris Bay. 

** We have found that the country abounds with life; seals, game, 
geese, ducks, musk-cattle, rabbits, wolves, foxes, bears, partridges, 
lemmings, etc. Our sealers have shot two seals in the open water 
while at this encampment. Onr long Arctic night commenced October 
13, having seen only the upper limb of the sun above the glacier at 
Meridian October 12. 

"This dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy I finished this moment 
8.23. P. M., having written it in ink in our snow hut, the thermometer 
outside — 7 °. Yesterday, all day the thermometer — 20 ° to 23 °. 

" Copy of dispatch placed in pillar Brevoort Cape, October 21, 1871." 

[This dispatch was taken from the cairn May 15, 1875, ^Y ^apt. 
Coffinger of the English Arctic Expedition, and sent tQ U. S. Govern- 
ment by the; British Admiralty.] 



CAPTAIN hall's DEATH — GRAVE. 557 

Captain Hall's Death. 

The work of the courageous voyager was finished, and 
the objects of the expedition frustrated by his sudden 
death. On returning to the '* Polaris," Oct. 24, after 
drinking a cup of coffee, he was seized with violent vomit- 
ing. His left side was paralyzed ; he suffered terrible 
pain, and was delirious on the 28th and two following 
days. Nov. 6th he had a still more severe attack, from 
which he sank into a comatose state, and expired at 3.25 
A. M. Oct. 8th. A grave was dug on shore by the light 
of lanterns, after two days' hard work, to the depth of 26 
inches, and at 11 A. M. Nov. loth, the body was buried, 
the funeral service being read by Mr. Bryan. Amid the" 
sobs of Hannah, and the solemn silence of the Arctic 
night, the indefatigable navigator was left to his long re- 
pose in the icy zones which he had loved too well. On 
his cenotaph might be inscribed not inappropriately the 
lines which Tennyson wrote for the monument to Sir John 
Franklin, placed by Lady Franklin in Westminster Abbey 
in 1875 •— 

" Not here ; the White North has thy bones, and thou, 
Heroic sailor soul, 
Art passing on thy happier voyage now 
Toward no Earthly Pole." 

In July, 1872, Capt. Hall's grave was visited oy his fel- 
low-voyagers, who transported soil to it, surrounded it with 
stones, set out a few plants, among which the assistant navi- 
gator, George E. Tyson, planted a willow, and erected a 
head-board, on which they placed this inscription : — 

To the Memory of 

C. F. Hall, 

Late Commander of the North Polar Expedition, Died 

Nov. 8, 187 1. — Aged 50 years. 

" I am the Resurrection and the Life ; he that believeth 

in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." 

The latter words were added by the mate of the " Po- 
laris," Mr. H.. C. Chester, The English Expedition of 



558 PROGKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY 

Capt. Stephenson visited Capt. Hall's grave May 13, 1876, j; 
and erected at its foot a brass table! which had been pre- 
pared in England. It bears this inscription ; 

ii 
Sacred to the Memory of 
Captain C. F. Hall, 
Of the U. S. S. " Polaris,' | 

" Who sacrificed his life in the advancement of science, 
Nov. 8. 187 1, This tablet has been erected by the 
British Polar Expedition of 1875, ^^^j 
following in his footsteps, have 
profited by his expe- 
rience." 

The grave was found undisturbed, and the willow 
planted by Mr. George E. Tyson, of the " Polaris," in 1872, 
was still alive. 



THE FATE OF THE POLARIS AND HER CREW. 

After Capt. Hall's death the command of the expedition 
devolved on Capt. Budington. He still cherished the 
hope of hoisting the stars and stripes " on the most 
northern part of the earth," but, without realizing this 
ambitious purpose, he was doomed to encounter and to 
escape only with his life, a succession of perils which have 
made the " Polaris," and the vicissitudes of her crew, a 
warning to all subsequent Arctic explorers. The winter 
was exceptionally severe. Nov. 18, a northeast gale blew 1 
at the rate of about 50 miles an hour, and it snowed heav- \ 
ily. On the 23d a gale from the southwest broke Provi- 
dence Berg, to which the ship was fastened, into two 
parts ; the berg moved towards the shore, where it 
grounded, with the Polaris in front ; her bow was four feet j 
liigher than the stern when the tide fell, but she righted 
when the tide rose. Jan. 16, 1872, the sun at 8 A. M., 
gave tokens of his coming. At first faint, his light in- 
creased by Feb. 4th so that any kind of print was readable 
in the twilight; and on Feb. 28th, at 12.15, thq whole orb I 



THE POLARIS AT PROVIDENCE BERG. 559 

appeared after 132 days' absence. The lowest tempera- 
ture in December was ;^;^ ^ below freezing, Jan. 9th it was 
48 ° below zero, February 7 ° to 43 ° 5'. The Scientific 
Corps, besides other experiments, noted with great pre- 
cision the vibrations of a large brass pendulum, set going 
in their observatory. 

Various visits of observation had been made to promi- 
nent points near by, during the winter. In April, a sledge 
journey to Cape Lupton revealed " a vast volume of im- 
penetrable pack with not a speck of open water," which 
was the case until the last of June. The sledge parties 
did not penetrate further than the mouth of Newman's 
Bay. Mate Chester's boat, with his box thermometer 
and other instruments, were crushed near Cape Lupton 
by the moving pack. At the end of June the Polaris was 
sawed out of the ice, and ventured after the boat parties. 
But she found an impenetrable pack near Cape Sumner 
and Cape Lieber, and returned to the Berg. In the firsi 
week of July, the crews abandoned their boats which were 
fast in the ice at Newman's Bav, and walked back to tht 
ship. Capt. Budington says in his journal : " I have been 
living in hopes that we should get further north, but the 
season is so unfavorable, the ice so compact and close, 
that =* * * it would not be at all advisable, without a 
supply of coal, to risk it with a vessel like ours. We must 
leave the harbor, for delay now will most probably prove 
fatal." 

On Aug. II, the ice in the straits was drifting South ; 
next day the engines were started, the vessel was piloted 
between heavy floes, and passed swiftly through the open 
water. Entering an impenetrable pack, she was tied to a 
floe, and drifted slowly South to 8i° 08.' She leaked 
badly, had coal enough to last only four days, and by Aug. 
27th the crew had prepared tb abandon her. Still they 
clung to her until Oct. 15th, when at 7.30, p.m. the 
" Polaris " ran among icebergs, the floe to which she was 
fastened broke in pieces, and the pack jammed her so that 
she was raised up and thrown on her port side. Provi- 
sions and stores and the records of the expedition were 
thrown out on the floe, and nineteen- of the crew had left 
the ship when there was another change in the ice, the 



5t)0 PliOGKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

" Polaris " broke from her anchors, and was rapidly car- 
ried away from the floe. In a few moments the ship dis- 
appeared in the black night, while her helpless crew, and 
the still more helpless men on the floe, were separated, 
never to be reunited on the arctic seas. 



Fate of the " Polaris " Party. 

The following men were carried away in the ship, 14 in 
all, viz., Capt. Budington, H. C. Chester and Wm. 
Morton, mates ; Emil Bessels, chief of scientific staff ; 
R, W. D. Bryan, astronomer ; Emil Schumann, and A. A. 
Odell, engineers ; N. J. Coffin, carpenter ; two firemen, 
and four seamen. The leak was alarming, but after much 
trouble the steam pump was started, and gained on the 
inflowing water. On the morning of the i6th, a clear day, 
not one of their comrades on the floe could be seen from 
the " Polaris." Soon a northeast breeze broke up the 
ice, and the ship had a lane of water to the shore, near 
Littleton Island. Here the stern grounded, and she was 
secured to large hummocks, her starboard side to the 
beach. The men prepared an encampment on shore, and 
began building new boats in which to escape to the south. 
By May 27th, two were completed, 25 feet long, five broad, 
and 2 feet 5 inches deep. 

On May 29th, the " Polaris " went adrift, and was car- 
ried 200 yards south, where she grounded, her upper deck 
at high tide two feet below the surface of the water. On 
June 3rd, 1872, the two boats' crews stood down the coast 
with a fair wind. On the 4th they landed at Hakluyt 
Islands, on the 9th at Northumberland Island, and on the 
13th at Dalrymple Island. On the 23rd, Mate Chester 
descried a ship about 10 miles off. It was the steamer 
" Ravenscraig," of Kirkcaldy, Scotland, Capt. Alleri, who 
promptly sent a rescue party. All walked back over the 
rotten ice to the ship, where they arrived at midnight. 
They were overjoyed with the intelligence brought by 
their rescuers that the floe party had been picked up 
April 30th by the " Tigress." Capt. Allen transferred his 
passengers to homeward bound vessels. Sept. 19th eleven 
arrived at Dundee in the "Arctic," and at New York 




" It was a Polar bear" — Page 



SAFETY OF THE POLARIS CREW. 561 

Oct. 7th. The " Eric " carried the other three to Dundee 
Oct. 22nd, and they reached New York in Nov. 1872. 
By an Act of Congress approved June 23rd, 1874, com- 
pensation and acknowledgments were authorized to be 
made to the owners, officers and sailors of all the relief 
ships, and to each of the ten men who walked on the ice 
to rescue Capt. Budington's party. The Navy Depart- 
ment had' sent out the sealing vessel " Tigress," Capt. 
Green and the U. S. Steamer " Juniata," Commander 
Braine, July 14th, to rescue the officers and crew of 
the "Polaris." The "Tigress," in July, landed at the 
spot occupied the preceding winter by the " Polaris " 
crew, and brought away all the manuscripts and books not 
torn into pieces. Capt. Greer learned from the natives 
that the "Polaris" had broken from her hawsers, and 
sank. Both ships pursued their search until they learned 
of the rescue of the Polaris crew. 



Fortunes of the Ice-Floe Party. 

Capt. George E. Tyson ; Mr. Frederick Meyer, meteor- 
ologist ; the steward, the cook, six seamen, Joe and Hans, 
with their wives and children, including a baby born to 
Hans two months before, and christened Charles Polaris, 
in all nineteen persons, were left on the ice-floe. Some of 
these were carried off on broken pieces of ice, but were 
brought back by the boats to the large drifting floe.* On 
this they spent the winter. Their provisions were reduced 
by January to the seals caught by the Eskimos, and a 
little mouldy bread. The seals were eaten uncooked, "with 
the skin and hair on." On New Year's day Capt. Tyson 
dined on "frozen entrails and blubber." In Feb. the 
thermometer stood 16° to 30° below zero. The sufferings 
of the children from cold and hunger, added to the woes of 
their elders. The Eskimos are valuable friends to travel- 
lers in the ice zones, and their dexterity in finding, and 
killing the seals, whale, walrus, bear, etc., has saved their 
starving white companions in many perilous journeys on 
the ice, but it is not always pleasant to bear the company 
of their peripatetic households. Yet affection is not frozen 
up in their breasts, and unlike their civilized friends, they 



562 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

prefer to encounter their icy enemies accompanied by 
their wives and children. But this also had its bright 
side for the helpless strangers ; the Eskimo women are 
often as brave and useful as their husbands. 

On April 30th, the party abandoned the rotten and 
wasted floe, and embarked in their only boat, which was 
so heavily laden that 100 pounds of meat and nearly all 
the clothing were thrown out. In a few hours, however, 
the boat was drawn on to the floe again, though the latter 
was fast going to pieces. On the 19th a sea washed over 
the floe, carrying away the tent, skins and bed-clothing, 
but fortunately none of the party. The men had to hold 
on to the boat all night to save it. On the 22d Hans 
shot a bear,' which he saw coming towards him on the ice. 
But for this timely food, the cold, wet, unsheltered, tired 
out party must have perished. 

At last these wretched voyagers were to experience the 
good providence which had, during the previous year, led 
them with grateful hearts to call the enforced winter 
quarters of the " Polaris " "Thank God Harbor," and the 
great ice-mountain that protected her " Providence Berg." 
On April 30th a steamer was seen close to the floe. It 
was the British steamship " Tigress," Capt. Bartlett, of 
Conception Bay, Newfoundland. The latitude of this 
fortunate rescue was 53^ 35' N., off Grady Harbor, Lab- 
rador. The whole party were landed at St. Johns, May 
i2th, where the U. S. Steamer "Frolic," Commarder C. 
M. Schoonmaker, took them on board, and carried them 
to Washington Navy Yard, June 5th, 1873. They had 
drifted on the floe 190 days and 1200 miles, but "even 
baby was saved." The Secretary of the Nav}', in his re- 
port of June 16, 1873, says : " After their rescue, although 
enfeebled by scanty diet and long exposure, and mentally 
depressed by their isolated and unhappy situation, so 
fearfully prolonged and of such uncertain issue, the 
general health of these hardy voyagers remained good, 
and when their trials and anxieties were ended, they soon 
regained their usual strength." 

As to the scientific results achieved by Hall's Expedi- 
tions it is the concurrent testimony of American and trans- 
atlantic authorities, that it has contributed largely to our 




THE "POLARIS" IN THANK GOD HARBOR. 



CAPT. HALL Al^D THE ESKIMOS. 563 

geographical and ethnological knowledge of the Polar 
country. The Societe de Geographic of Paris, awarded 
Capt. Hall a gold medal, as the " promoter-in-chief of the 
Polaris Expedition, and as otherwise due him for his pre- 
vious labors." And Capt. Sir George Nares, in his 
official Report to Parliament of the English Expedition of 
1875, says : " The coast-line was observed to be con- 
tinuous for about 30 miles, forming a bay bounded toward 
the west of the United States range of mountains, with 
mounts Mary and Julia, and Cape Joseph Henry, agree- 
ing so well with Hall's description, that it was impossible 
to mistake their identity. Their bearings also, although 
differing upwards of 30 deg. from the published chart, 
agreed precisely with his original report." He further 
says : " But for the valuable deposits of provisions es- 
tablished by the " Polaris " at Hall's Rest, Lieut. Beau- 
mont would have found the greatest difficulty in obtaining 
supplies." 

The knowledge which Capt. Hall obtained of the lan- 
guage, habits, religion, pastimes, feelings and social life of 
the natives during his five winters in their wretched snow- 
huts is the most valuable we have in regard to the Eskimo 
race. He says in his Journal: 'Nothing but an expe- 
rience of years could enable me to control such untamable 
eagles." In all this experience, he received unfailing as- 
sistance from the friendship and constant watchfulness 
of Hannah and Joe. For these faithful friends he pur- 
chased a home in Groton, Conn., to which they repaired 
after their return from his fatal voyage in the *' Polaris." 
Hannah died there, of consumption, a disease which afflicts 
the majority of her race, on Dec. 31st, 1876, aged 38. In 
June, 1878, Joe returned to the Arctic seas wdth Lieut. 
Schwatka, U. S. A., and remained there. The stranger 
who visits the cemetery at Groton, will be struck by the 
inscriptions on the tombstones in memory of the Eskimos 
who have visited or died there : — Hannah, aged 38 ; 
Kod-la-go, July i, i860; Ou-se-gong (Jeannie), July i, 1867, 
aged 28 ; Tu-ke-il-ke-ta, Feb. 28, 1863, aged 18 months, 
(Hannah's first child, who died in New York) ; Sylvia 
Grinnell Ebierbing (Punna), born at Ig-loo-lik. July 1866, 
died March 18, 1875. The last was Joe's and Hannah's 



564 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

adopted daughter, purchased for them by Hall from her 
parents, in 1868, by the gift of a sled. 

It is time now to turn to several English and German 
expeditions which explored the Arctic seas during the 
score of years which began with McClintock's successful 
voyage in the "Fox" already related, and ended with 
Hall's disastrous search in the " Polaris." 



AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EXPEDITION UnDER LiEUTS. WeY- 
PRECHT AND PaYER — VARIOUS OTHER EXPEDITIONS 

FROM Europe. — Nordenskiold. 

In June, 187 1, Lieuts. Weyprecht and Payer, in a small 
Norwegian vessel, sailed from Tromso, Norway, into the 
Arctic sea to the North of Nova Zembla. They found an 
open ocean in which light and scattered ice was the only 
impediment to navigation. This expedition reached Lat. 
780 41' N. Dr. Petermann, the German geographer, has 
stated his belief that Weyprecht and Payer actually pene- 
trated inro the open polar sea, and found the entrance of 
the best, if not the only water passage to the neighbor- 
hood of the Pole — that the Pole can best be reached by 
following the course of the Gulf Stream northward between 
Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla — and that the warmer 
water of the Gulf current not only keeps the northern 
channel free from ice at this point, but is the cause of the 
open polar sea. Weyprecht and Payer, in their Austro- 
Hungarian Expedition of 1872-1874, discovered a new 
land about 200 miles north of Nova Zembla, to which the 
name Franz Joseph Land has been assigned. Its south 
coast lies about the 80th parallel, and it was explored by 
means of sledges, up to 820 5' N., while land was seen 
extending as far as S^^ north. The Norwegian captains 
Tobiesen and Mack confirmed the discovery of open 
water by Payer and Weyprecht. Another Norwegian, 
Captain Carlsen, discovered the remains of the winter- 
quarters established 276 years before — 1594-1596 — at the 
N.E. end of Nova Zembla by the Dutch captain William 
Barentz, who in his third expedition in search of a north* 



VAiiiotrs EUROPEAN EXPEbiTioNS. 565 

east passage reached long. looo E. near Icy Cape. Helve 
and Smyth sailed to the North of Spitzbergen and found 
open water even in jat. 80^ 27'. An expedition fitted out 
by A. Rosenthal, of Bremerhaven, explored the ocean north 
of Siberia. An English Arctic Expedition under Capt. 
Nares already referred to in connection with the last 
voyage of Hall (who reached, through a strait which he 
named Robeson, Sa'^ 16,') sailed, in 1875, through Smith 
Sound, and crossed .the highest latitude yet attained, 830 
20. In 1875, ^"^ again in 1876, Professor Nordenskiold 
reached the eastern shores of the Gulf of Obi ; and in 
July, 1878, a well-equipped Swedish expedition in the 
" Vega," under that veteran explorer, attempted once 
more the northeast passage. The party successfully 
rounded Cape Chelynskin, and in September were able to 
start from the mouths of the Lena for Bering's Strait. 
(For a full account of Prof. Nordenskiold's important dis- 
coveries on the north of Europe and Asia, down to 1879, 
see his work on the voyage of the " Vega," published in 
New York in 1882.*) Thus with numerous attempts to 
sail in opposite directions around the northern waters of 
Europe, Asia and America, the Arctic regions have been 
surveyed to within 8 ° of the Pole, and we are able to 
construct a circumpolar map with measurable correctness. 
The northwest and northeast passages have been both ef- 
fected, but no clear way for commerce has been, or prob- 
ably ever will be, discovered. 

*In 1875 Capt. Allen Young, R. N., sailed in the " Pandora ' for 
the western coast of Greenland, intending to proceed through Bafifin's 
Bay, Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait towards the magnetic Pole, 
and, if possible, to navigate through the northwest passage to the 
Pacific Ocean in one season. He adds : "As, in following this route, 
the " Pandora " would pass King William Land^ it was proposed, if suc- 
cessful in reaching that locality in the summer season when the snow 
was off the land, to make a search for further records and for the 
journals of the ships " Erebus " and '* Terror." In Franklin Chan- 
nel the " Pandora " encountered at the Roquette Islands, 140 miles from 
I Point Victory, an impenetrable ice-pack. This defeated the prime ob- 
! jects of the expedition, and it soon returned to England. 



566 moGRESs oi* arctic discovery. 

Expedition of Lieut. Schwatka, U. S. A., in the 
" EoTHEN," Capt. T. F. Barry, June 19, 1878. 

Lieut. Frederick Schwatka, of the 3d U. S. Cavalry, ob- 
taining leave of absence from regular army duty, fitted out 
in June, 1878, by private subscription, the steamer 
*' Eothen," commanded by Capt. T. F. Barry, with a crew 
of 23 men. The " Eothen " was a seaworthy vessel of 
102 tons, and was made still stouter- with oak planking 
I 1-2 inch thick on her hull, and two feet thick on her 
stern, besides 3-4 inch of iron plating. Joe Ebierbing, 
who had returned from his polar expedition in the *' Pan- 
dora " under Capt. Young, was a member of the party. ^ 
The immediate object of Lieut. Schwatka was to search F 
for the cairns and buried papers of Sir John Franklin's f 
Expedition, which were rumored to exist in King WilUam j 
Land. The expedition sailed June 19, 1878. William H. \ 
Gilder was second in command. On the igth of July ice- f 
bergs were plentiful in lat. 59 ° 54' N., long. 60° 45' W. f 
Aug. 17, the ship reached Whale Point, in an arm of Hud- 
son's Bay. Here " igloos " were built on shore, in lat. 
63 ° 61' N., long. 60 ° 26' 15'' W., where tlie party passed 
the winter to April i, 1879, Schwatka then undertook a 
sledge journey of 3,251 miles, occupying eleven months. 
Thirteen Innuit men, women and children accompanied 
these sledges, which were drawn by 42 dogs, and bore of 
supplies, 5,000 pounds. Their course was north-northwest, 
over a region hitherto unvisited by white men or Innuits. 
May 15th, on a branch of Fish River, they came across a 
party of Ook-joo-liks, who gave the usual account of the 
missing crews. Schwatka and Gilder soon reached Back's 
River, and on June 4 visited a cairn on Pfeffer River, the 
one erected by Capt. Hall, May 12, 1869, over the bones 
of two of Franklin's men. Many relics were found, the 
most interesting, lying on a stone at the foot of an 
open grave, a silver medal awarded to Lieut. John Irving, 
third officer of the " Terror," being the second mathemat- 
ical prize in the Royal Naval College. The skull and 
some bones were picked up, and afterwards sent to the 
relatives of Lieut. Irving in Scotland, who buried them 
with due honor in his native town. Before leaving Cape 



SCHWATZA FINDS EELlCS OF FHANKHN. 667 

Felix, Schwatka erected a monument over Irving's grave, 
and buried a copy of McClintock's record left here. 
Cape Felix, the most northern point of King William 
Land, was reached by the travellers July 3d. For food 
they killed the musk-ox, ducks, geese and reindeer, and 
this meat, eaten raw, or as soon as killed, occasioned much 
diarrhoea. Cairns were found near the coast containing 
traces of the lost navigators. Lieut. Schwatka took down 
a pillar seven feet high, but found no records. He rebuilt 
it carefully, and deposited therein the records of his own 
party. The lieutenant, on July 13, turned south, travelling 
down the coast. Ten ting-places were found of white men 
and natives, a torn-down cairn, an empty grave, and at 
some distance a skull which appeared to have been 
dragged there by wild beasts. Gilder in his narra- 
tive says, that " wherever they found graves they always 
found evidences that the natives had encamped in the 
neighborhood like vultures." — Terror Bay was reached 
Aug. 3, on foot, the ice and snow being too soft for sledg- 
ing. Sept. 19, a permanent winter camp was formed on 
Simpson's Strait. Reindeer in large herds were seen, and 
supplied the party with meat. But by Oct. 14, this supply 
of food gave out. Dec. 10, the journey south was con- 
tinued, and, owing to a lack of food, became a constant 
struggle for life. Several times the hunters barely escaped 
death from hungry wolves. The reindeer flesh was eaten 
raw, and had to be " sawed into small bits and thawed in 
the mouth." More than half of the dogs died. One snow 
storm lasted 13 days. The thermometer fell to 69 ^ below 
zero in Dec, averaging — 50 ° F. Jan. 3d it was — 71 ° . 
The lowest temperature in Feb. was loi ° below the 
freezing point. March 4, Schwatka got back to Depot 
Island, but found that Capt. Barry had left no provisions 
there. He then started for Marble Island, where, on the 
21st of March, 1880, the whaler "George Henry" was 
boarded, Capt. Gilder first reaching the ship. 

This extraordinary winter journey was the longest and 
most successful of any ever recorded. Capt. Gilder thus 
sums it up ; — 

" During the year that we were absent from the verge of civilization, 
as the winter harbor of the whalers may be considered, we had travelled 



568 PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

two thousand eight hundred and nineteen geographical, or three thou- 
sand two hundred and fifty-one statute miles, most of which was over 
unexplored territory, constituting the longest sledge journey ever made, 
both as to time and distance, and the only extended sledge journey 
ever accomplished in the Arctic, except such as have been made through 
countries well known and over routes almost as thoroughly established 
as post-roads. Our sledge journey stands conspicuous as the only one 
ever made through the entire course of an Arctic winter, and one re- 
garded by the natives as exceptionally cold, as the amount of suffering 
encountered by those remaining at Depot Island attested, and further 
confirmed, as we afterward learned, by the experience of those who 
wintered at Wager River, where many deaths occurred, attributable to 
the unusual severity of the season. The party successfully withstood 
the lowest temperature ever experienced by white men in the field, re- 
cording one observation of — 71 degrees Fah., sixteen days whose aver- 
age was one hundred degrees below the freezing point, and twenty- 
seven which registered below — 60 degrees, during most of which the 
party travelled. In fact the expedition never took cold into consider- 
ation, or halted a single day on that account. 

" During the entire journey, its reliance for food both for man and 
beast may be said to have been solely upon the resources of the coun- 
try, as the expedition started with less than one month's rations, and 
it is the first in which the white men of an expedition voluntarily lived 
exclusively upon the same fare as its Eskimo assistants, thus showing 
that while men can safely adapt themselves to the climate and life of 
the Eskimos, and prosecute their journeys in any season or under such 
circumstances as would try the natives of the country themselves. 

"The Expedition was the first to make a summer search over the 
route of the lost crews of the * Erebus ' and ' Terror,' and while so 
doing buried the remains of every member of that fated party found 
above ground, so that no longer the bleached bones of those unfort- 
unate explorers whiten the coasts of King William Land and Adelaide 
Peninsula as an eternal rebuke to civilization, but all have, for the time 
being at least, received decent and respectful interment. 

*' The most important and direct result of the labors of the expe- 
dition will undoubtedly be considered the establishing the loss of the 
Franklin records at the boat place in Starvation Cove; and as ever 
since Dr. Rae's expedition of 1854, which ascertained the fate of the 
party, the recovery of the Records has been the main object of sub- 
sequent exploring in this direction, the -history of the Franklin expe- 
dition may now be considered as closed. As ascertaining the fate of the 
party was not so gratifying as would have been their rescue or the 
relief of any number thereof, so it is in establishing the fate of the 
record of their labors. Next in importance to their recovery must be 
considered the knowledge of their irrecoverable loss. . . . 

*' The excellent management of the Commander, Lieut. Schwatka, 
secured his party from many of the usual misfortunes of those in the 
field, and deprived the Expedition of the sensational character it might 
have assumed in other hands. Every contingency was calculated upon 
and provided for beforehand." — ** Schwatka's Search, Sledging in the 
Arctic in quest of Franklin Records." (Charles Scribner's Sons. 188 1.) 



I 




** Numerous furred animals,'^ ^c. — -^age 



HUN^TING THE MUSK-OX. 569 

The chief resource of Lieut. Schwatka*s party in this 
memorable overland journey from the waters of North 
Hudson's Bay to Back's Great Fish River (which empties 
into the Arctic Ocean just south of the large island known 
as King William's Land), especially as food for their nu- 
merous and voracious dogs, were the musk-cattle that are 
sparsely distributed in small herds over that desolate re- 
gion. Lieut. Schwatka's account of the manner in which 
the natives hunt this remarkable animal, is so novel and 
interesting that we make the following extracts from his 
article in the " Century Magazine " of Sept., 1883 : — 

After some two or three hours of wandering around in the drifting 
mist, guiding our movements as much as possible by the direction of 
the wind, we came plump upon the trail, apparently not over ten min- 
utes old, of some six or seven of the animals now probably "doing their 
level best " to escape. The sledges were immediately stopped and the 
dogs rapidly unhitched from them, from one to three or four being 
given to each of the eleven men and boys, white or native, that were 
present, who, taking their harnesses in their left hands or tying them 
in slip-nooses around their waists, started without delay upon the trail. 
The dogs, many of them old musk-ox hunters, and with appetites 
doubly sharpened by hard work and a constantly diminishing ration, 
tugged like mad at their seal-skin harness lines, as they half buried 
their eager noses in the tumbled snow of the trail and hurried their hu- 
man companions along at a flying rate that threatened a broken limb or 
neck at each of the rough gorges and jutting precipices of the broken, 
stony hill-land. The rapidity with which an agile native hunter can 
run when thus attached to two or three excited dogs is astonishing. 
Whenever a steep valley was encountered the Eskimos would slide 
down on their feet, in a sitting posture, throwing the loose snow to 
their sides like escaping steam from a hissing locomotive, until the 
bottom was reached ; then, quick as thought, they would throw them- 
selves at full length upon the snow, and the wild, excited brutes would 
drag them up the other side, where, regaining their feet, they would 
run on at a constantly accelerating gait, their guns in the meantime 
being held in the right hand or tightly lashed upon the back. 

The foremost hunters began loosening their dogs to bring the oxen 
to bay as soon as possible ; and then, for the first time, these intelli- 
gent creatures gave tongue in deep, long baying, as they shot forward 
like arrows, and disappeared over the crests of the hills amidst a per- 
fect bewilderment of flying snow and fluttering harness traces. The 
discord of shouts and howlings told us plainly that some of the animals 
had been brought to bay not far distant, and we soon heard a rapid 
series of sharp reports from the breech-loaders and magazine guns of 
the advanced hunters. We white men arrived just in time to see the 
final struggle. The oxen presented a most formidable-looking appear- 
ance, with their rumps firmly wedged together, a complete circle of 
swaying horns presented to the front, with gre^t blood-shot eyeballs 



570 PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

glaring like red-hot shot amidst the escaping steam from their panting 
nostrils, and pawing and plunging at the circle of furious dogs that 
encompassed them. The rapid blazing of the magazine guns right in 
their faces — so close, often, as to burn their long shaggy hair — added 
to the striking scene. Woe to the over-zealous dog that was unlucky 
enough to get his harness line under the hoof of a charging and infuri- 
ated musk-ox; for they will follow up a leash along the ground with 
a rapidity and certainty that would do credit to a tight-rope performer, 
and either paw the poor creature to death or fling him high in the air 
with their horns. 

Too-lo6-ah, my best hunter, — an agile, wiry young Iwillik Eskimo of 
about twenty-six, with the pluck and endurance of a blooded horse, — 
and half the dogs pressed onward after the scattered remnants of the 
herd, and succeeded in killing two more after a hard run for three 
miles. The last one he would probably not have overtaken if the swiftest 
dog, Parseneuk, had not chased him to the edge of a steep precipice. 
Here a second's hesitation gave the dog a chance to fasten on the 
ox's heels, and the next second Parseneuk was making an involun- 
tary aerial ascent, which was hardly finished before Too-lo6-ah had 
put three shots from his Winchester carbine into the brute's neck and 
head, whereupon the two animals came to earth together, — Parseneuk 
on the soft snow at the bottom of the twenty-foot precipice, fortunately 
unhurt. Parseneuk was a trim-built animal that I had secured from 
the Kinnepetoo Eskimos who inhabit the shores of Chesterfield Inlet 
being one of the very few tribes of the great Eskimo family, from the 
Straits of Belle Isle to those of Behring Sea, who live away from the 
sea-coasts; his pointed ears peered cunningly forth in strange con- 
trast with the many other dogs that I have met, whose broken and 
mutilated ears showed plainly the fights and quarrels in which they 
had figured. 

The chase finished, tlie half famished dogs received al! they could 
eat, — their first full feast in over three weeks, — and after loading the 
two sledges with the remaining meat and a few of the finer robes as 
mementos and trophies, we returned to our morning's camp, a distance 
of five or six miles, which we travelled slowly enough, our over-fed 
dogs hardly noticing the most vigorous applications of the well-ap- 
plied whip. 

The Eskimos with whom I was brought in contact never hunt the 
musk-oxen without a plentiful supply of well trained dogs; for with 
their help, the hunters are almost certain of securing the whole herd 
unless the animals are apprised of the approach, as they were in our 
encounter with them. When the flying herd has been brought to 
bay in their circle of defense by the dogs, the Eskimo hunters aj)- 
proach within five or six feet and make sure of every shot that is fired, 
as a wounded animal is somewhat dangerous, and extremely liable to 
stampede the herd. 

Lieut. Schwatka and his party arrived home in good 
health Sept. 22d, 1880. Schwatka, by act of Congress 
approved Aug. 7, 1882, was allowed full pay during his 



J 



DELONG AXD THE JExVNNETTE. 571 

absence from March 5, 1878, to Oct. i, 1880, together 
with mileage from Dakota Territory to New York, and 
from New York City back to Vancouver Barracks, Wash- 
ington Territory. The Geographical Society of Paris 
awarded to Lieut. Schwatka its fifty-fourth annual gold 
medal given to explorers. M. de Lesseps in presenting it 
to the representative of the U. S. Legation, said : *' Be 
pleased to forward this medal to your courageous country- 
man, with the expression of our esteem for him and his 
companions. We hope also that the Gordon Bennetts, 
the Lorillards, and the other Mecasnases of science in the 
United States will accept the acknowledgments addressed 
to them by our prize commission, and cordially concurred 
in by all their associates." — Thus, Kane, Hayes, Hall and 
Schwatka, each received this valued medal from the ^^- 
ciet^ de G^ographie. 



Lieutenant G. W. DeLong's Expedition in the 
" Jeannette," formerly the " Pandora," pur- 
chased FOK HIM BY James Gordon Bennett. 

Lieut. DeLong, U. S. N., had been sent by the Navy 
Department in the " Juniata," to the Greenland coast in 
search of Capt. Hall's party of 1873, and had then, doubt- 
less, imbibed the Arctic-Exploring fever. In 1876, having 
been promised assistance by Mr. Bennett, he obtained 
from the Navy Department leave of absence, and visited 
England in search of a suitable vessel. Here he fixed 
upon the " Pandora," of 420 tons burthen, which had 
already made two Arctic voyages under Capt. Allen 
Young, R. N. Mr. Bennett purchased this vessel, and she 
was equipped in the ship-yard at Deptford, and shipped 
her crew at Cowes. DeLong sailed for San Francisco by 
way of the Horn July 15, 1878, and arrived there Dec. 27. 
Lieut. J. W. Danenhower, U. S. N., joined him as execu- 
tive officer for the cruise. In Feb., 1879, ^Y ^^^ ^^ Con- 
gress, the Government of the U. S. accepted the " Jean- 
nette " from Mr. Bennett for " a voyage of exploration." 
It was DeLong's intention, as he wrote, to "attack the 
Polar regions by the way of Bering Straits, and if our ef- 



572 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

forts are not crowned with success, we shall have made an 
attempt in a new direction, and examined a hitherto un- 
known country." [A true prophecy !] 

The *' Jeannette " was repaired by the Commandant of 
the Navy Yard at Mare Island, San Francisco, under the 
direction of a Board of Naval officers, at an outlay of 
$100,000. Yet a second Naval Board reported to Com- 
modore Calhoun, June 26, 1879, ^^^^^ "while she had been 
repaired and placed in condition for Arctic service, so far 
as practicable, it was not possible in the opinion of the 
Board to make her particularly adapted for an extended 
Arctic cruise." But Lieut. DeLong, after leaving San 
Francisco, wrote to Mr. Bennett : " She is everything I 
want for the expedition, but a little small for all I want to 
carry in her. * * Our outfit is simply perfect, w^hether 
for ice or navigation, astronomical work, magnetic work, 
gravity experiments, or collections of Natural History. 
We have a good crew, good food, and a good ship ; and I 
think we have the right kind of stuff to dare all that man 
can do." 

The crew consisted of 32 persons, volunteers : Geo. 
W. DeLong, Lieut. U. S. N. commanding; Charles W. 
Chipp, Lieut. U. S. N., DeLong's associate in the cruise 
for Hall, July, 1873, executive officer; John W. Danen- 
hower, U. S. N., master ; the other names will appear in 
the course of the narrative. Lieut. DeLong received in- 
structions from Secretary Thompson, June 1879, on reach- 
ing Bering Strait, to " make diligent inquiry at such points 
where he deemed it likely that information could be ob- 
tained concerning the fate of Prof. Nordenskiold (of the 
" Vega ") ; if he had good and sufficient reasons for be- 
lieving Nordenskiold was safe, he would proceed on his 
voyage ; if otherwise, he would pursue such a course as 
would be judged necessary for his aid arid relief." 

The "Jeannette" steamed out of the harbor of San 
Francisco July 8, 1879. ^^^ reached Ounalaska Island 
Aug. 3. At St. Michael's, her next anchorage, DeLong 
purchased forty dogs, and engaged two Indian hunters and 
dog-drivers — Anegguin and Alexai. The " Jeannette " 
was too deeply laden to move rapidly. The schooner 
"F. A. Hyde," with coal and extra stores, arrived from 




NORDENSKIOLD AND THE VEGA. 573 

San Francisco Aug. i8th, and followed the " Jeannette " 
to St. Lawrence Bay, which both vessels reached on the 
25th, encountering on the way terrible gales. The sea 
swept over the decks of the " Jeannette," stove in her for- 
ward parts, carried away the bridge and caved the bulk- 
heads. When the ship got out clear of land into Bering 
Sea, the water was so shallow that a very ugly sea was 
raised during a gale that lasted thirty hours. Here a na- 
tive chief told them that he had been on a small steamer 
three months before ; DeLong felt convinced that this was 
the "Vega" of Nordenskiold, though when last heard 
from the latter was at Cape Serdze Kamen, 130 miles 
distant. On the 27th he took a northwest course toward 
Bering Strait. On the 30th, Lieut. Chipp landed at the 
Cape, lat. 67 ° 12' N., and learned from an old squaw 
that the " Vega " had wintered on the east of Kolintchin 
Bay, and then gone south. The party on the 31st landed 
on the bay, and satisfied themselves by the papers and 
relics found, that this was true. On the 6th of Sept. the 
steamer was hemmed in by ice. DeLong wrote in his 
Journal : " I am hoping and praying to get the ship into 
Herald Island to make winter-quarters. As far as the eye 
can range is ice, and not only does it look as if it never 
had broken up, but it also looks as if it never would." It 
did not. On the 8th, in lat. 71 o 35' N., 175 ^ 5' 48" W. 
the "Jeannette" was stopped by solid floes, and the ice- 
anchors were planted. She was held tight as a vice, and 
drifted to the north and west. Oct. 3d the drift changed 
to the south, and Herald Island was in sight to the south- 
southeast. On the 28th, in 71° 57' N., 177° 51' W. 
DeLong saw one large island with three peaks, which he 
believed to be the north side of Wrangell Land, which he 
now felt sure was not a continent, but " either one large 
island or an archipelago." The night of the 28th is de- 
scribed by DeLong: " The heavens were cloudless, the 
moon very nearly full and shining brightly, and every star 
twinkUng ; the air perfectly calm, and not a sound to break 
the spell. * * Standing out in bold relief against the 
blue sky, every rope and spar with a thick coat of snow 
and frost," the ship " was simply a beautiful spectacle." 
Nov, nth the moving ice is thus described: "Masses 



574 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

from 15 to 25 feet in height when up-ended, slid along at 
various angles of elevation and poise, and between and 
among them w^ere large masses of debris like a marble- 
yard adrift." The last of Nov. the ship went adrift in a 
gale, but at 7 P. M. was frozen in solid in some young ice. 
Danenhower's Journal says : " We reckoned that she 
had drifted at least 40 miles with the ice in her immediate 
vicinity On one occasion I stood on the deck- 
house above a sharp tongue of ice that pressed the port 
side just abaft the forechains, and in the wake of the im- 
mense truss that had been strengthened at Mare Island 
by the earnest advice of Com. Wm. H. Shock. The fate 
of the " Jeannette " was then delicately balanced, and when 
I saw the immense tongue break and harmlessly underrun 
the ship, I gave heartfelt thanks to Shock's good judg- 
ment. She would groan from stem to stern ; the cabin- 
doors were often jammed so that we could not get out in 
case of an emergency, and the heavy truss was imbedded 
three-quarters of an inch into the ceiling. The safety of 
the ship at that time was due entirely to the trussT 
DeLong says : " A crisis may come at any moment. . . . 
Living over a powder-mill, waiting for an explosion, would 
be a similar mode of existence." Jan. 14, 1880, the ice 
began to move to the eastward ; the floes were piled under 
the stem, breaking the fore-foot. The ship leaked ; the 
water was 18 inches deep in the fore-peak, and 36 inches 
in the fore-hold, and in the fire-room ran over the floor- 
plates on the starboard side. On the 2 2d, at noon, the 
thermometer was — 37°. DeLong's state of mind is thus 
described : " My anxieties are beginning to crowd on me. 
A disabled and leaking ship, a seriously sick officer 
[Danenhower, upon whose left eye, inflamed and nearly 
blind, the surgeon had performed several painful opera- 
tions] and an uneasy and terrible pack ^ with the constantly 
diminishing coal-pile, and at a distance of 200 miles from 
the nearest Siberian settlement — these are enough to think 
of for a lifetime." — The steam pump gained on the water 
in the ship, on Jan. 27th pumping out 2250 gallons per 
hour. Nindemann and Sweetman, two of the crew, 
worked 14 hours per day stuffing plaster-of-paris and ashes, 
which soon diminished the leak in the berth deck 450 




'-/AffOS0JV&. COX *>C ' 



THE "JEANNETTE" WEDGED IN THE ICE. 




I 



POLAE GATEWAY A DELUSIO]!^. 57 5 

gallons per hour The sun reappeared Jan. 26th, and 
after 71 days' comparative darkness, there was sunlight 
or moonlight all the time. On the 6th of March the 
"Jeannette" was in lat. 72° 12' N., long. 175*^ 30' W., 
her drift was zigzag ; on the 30th, she occupied a position 
almost identical with that of four months previous. A 
walrus was shot, and used for dog food, which weighed 
about 2800 pounds. — DeLong says, regarding the Arctic 
currents ; — 

" A drift of 5 i miles to South 38° E. The irony of fate ! How long, O 
Lord ? How long ? As to there being any warm current reaching to a 
high latitude, we have found none. I am inclined to agree with 
Lieutenant Weyprecht, when he says, 'The Gulf Stream does not 
regulate the limits of the ice ; but the ice, set in motion by winds, re- 
gulates the limits of the warmer Gulf Stream water ; and I pronounce 
a thermometric gateway to the Pole ^.delusion and a snare.' Of course, 
if any warm current came through Bering Strait, it would be the 
Kuro Siwa, and our sea temperatures have indicated no such fact." 
Lieut. Danenhower says : " The important point of the drift is in the 
fact that the ship traversed an immense area of ocean, at times 
gyrating in almost perfect circles, her course and the observations of 
her officers proving that land does not exist in that area, and estab- 
lishing many facts of value as regards the depth and character of the 
ocean bed and its temperatures, animal life, etc. It is matter of 
lasting regret that the two thousand observations of Lieut. Chipp, an 
accomplished electrician, especially upon the disturbances of the gal- 
vanometer during auroras, as recommended to be made by the Smith- 
sonian Institution, as well as the meteorological observations of Mr. 
Collins, perished with the lamented young officers in the wreck of 
their boat on the Siberian shore. " 

A windmill pump was constructed by George W. Mel- 
ville, asst. engineer, Alfred Sweetman, carpenter, and 
Walter Lee, machinist, which took the place of the Seweli 
steam pump, and saved the fast-diminishing coal. At the 
close of May the ship was 190 miles northwest of Herald 
Island. On the 30th of June, after nine months' drifting, 
the ship was in lat. 72° 19' 41" N., long. 178° 27' 30'' E. 
She was heeling 4° to starboard. The thermometer had 
risen to 37° below freezing. 

August 17th, DeLong has this entry : " Our glorious 
summer is passing away : it is painful beyond expression 
to go round the ice in the morning and see no change 
since the night before . . . High as our temp, is (34"^ ) 
foggy weather a daily occurrence, yet here we are hard and 



576 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

fast, with ponds here and there two or three feet deep . . 
Does the ice never find an outlet ? It has no regular 

set north, south, east, or west, so far as I can 

judge, but slowly surges in obedience to wind-pressure, 
and grinds back to an equilibrium when the pressure 
ceases. Are there no tides in this ocean ? . . . The ice is \ 
as immovable as a rock. It is hard to believe that an im- 
penetrable barrier exists clear up to the Pole, and yet. . * 
we have not seen one speck of land north of Herald 
Island." By Sept. i, the ship was on an even keel, but 
immovable. More water came in, and even should she 
float, there was too much fear that she would sink, in 
which disastrous event the ice floes were an uncertain 
refuge. DeLong sadly says : " I can conceive no greater | 
forlorn hope than to attempt to reach Siberia over the ice, I 
with the winter's cold sapping one's life at every step ! " ^ 
He thus describes the winter night : — " Imagine a moon \ 
nearly full, a cloudlfess sky, brilliant stars, a pure white | 
waste of snow-covered ice, which seems firm and crisp under | 
your feet, a ship standing out in bold relief, every rope and ji 
thread plainly visible, and enormously enlarged by accumu- n 
lations of fluffy and down-like frost feathers ; and you have 
a crude picture of the scene .... but must experience the 
majestic and awful silence which generally prevails .... 
and causes one to feel how trifling and insignificant he is in 
comparison with such grand works in nature. The bright- 
ness is wonderful. The reflection of moonlight from 
bright ice-spots makes brilliant effects, and should a stray -i 
piece of tin be near you, it seems to have the light of a 
dazzling gem. A window in the deck-house looks like 
a calcium light when the moonlight strikes it at the proper 
angle, and makes the feeble light from an oil-light within 



seem ridiculous when the angle is changed." Lieut. 
Chipp, on Dec. 27, at 3 A. M., described " a bright auroral 
curtain about 10° above the horizon from east-southeast 
to northwest, generally white, but occasionally showing a / 
green shade, and, rarely, a brownish-red color, which dis- -j 
appeared as soon as seen. Above this curtain the sky ) 
was of a deep blue-black, through which the stars shone | 
brilliantly, as they did also through the deepest part of the ? 
curtain. Above the deep blue-black were irregular j 



THE JEANI^TTE SINKS IN 38 FATHOMS. 577 

Spirals and streaks of white light, in continuous motion 
appearing and disappearing rapidly. From east to west, 
through the zenith, was an irregular arch formed of de- 
tached streaks of brownish-red light, among which white 
light would suddenly appear, and as suddenly vanish. 
This arch was 5° broad. Stars shone with apparently 
undiminished brilliancy through the deepest color." — 
DeLong's Journal, especially, exhibits unwavering resigna- 
tion to the behests of Providence. Jan. i, 188 1, he wrote : 
" I begin the new year by turning over a new leaf in this 
book, and I hope to God we are turning over a new leaf 
in our book of luck. I am thankful for our preservation 
among many perils." 

On the 1 6th of May, 1881, an island was discovered by 
Ice-Master Dunbar. DeLong, exclaims : "Fourteen months 
without anything to look at but ice and sky, and twenty 
months drifting in the pack, will make a little mass of 
volcanic rock like our island as pleasing to the eye as an 
oasis in the desert." On the 17th the ship was in lat. 76^ 
43' 38" ; long. E. 161° 42' 30". The " Jeannette " drifted 
past the north side of the island so rapidly in the broken 
pack that a landing was not attempted. It was named 
"Jeannette." On the 24th another island was seen dis- 
tant about 15 or 20 miles, and on the 31st Engineer Mel- 
ville, with five seamen, and a fifteen dog team, set out to visit 
it. On June 3d they landed, hoisted the American flag, 
and named the island Henrietta ; a cairn was built and a 
record put in it. The island was a desolate rock sur- 
rounded by a snow cap, with glaciers on its east face. 
The only signs of life were dovekies on the cliffs. De- 
Long thanked God for this little speck of newly-discovered 
land ; his longing heart had to be satisfied with his rare op- 
portunities to contribute something to our knowledge of 
the earth. But his perils on the icy and unknown deep 
have a lurid attraction which is lacking to the savage 
islands to which the United States cannot assert her claim 
of sovereignty. 

On the 13th of June, 1881, came the long threatened 
catastrophe to the ship. On the 12 th, at midnight, the 
whole pack was alive, and she was set free by the split of 
the floe on a line with her keel. The ice commenced com- 



578 I>ROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

ing in on her side, with a hissing, crumbling sound, and at 
3.40 P. M. it came through the starboard coal bunkers. 
The ship heeled more than 20° to starboard ; her bows 
were high in the air, showing the injury to her forefoot 
made Jan. 19, 1880. The order was given to leave the 
vessel ; chronometers, rifles, ammunition, and whatever 
could be saved, were thrown on the floe. DeLong was 
everywhere, seeing that all things v/ent on smoothly and 
quietly, without the least haste or consternation. The 
first and second cutter, and whale-boat were lowered, and 
at II p. m. the ship's party of 2)2> '^^^ pitched their tents, 
six in number, on the floe. But this floe was breaking up, 
and another was sought about 400 yards from the ship in 
lat. 77'^i4' 57" N.,long,i54<=>58'45" E. At 4 A. M., June 
13, the ice which had held together the " Jeannette's " 
broken timbers gave way, and with her colors flying ac 
the masthead, she sa7ik in ^^^ fathoms of water. 

Eight of the " Jeannette's " crew were sick with lead 
poisoning from tomato cans, and this delayed the start 
southward until June 17. It was 350 miles to Siberia, 1500 
miles to Yakoutsk, 6500 miles to St. Petersburg ! A cheer- 
ing prospect, indeed ! 3^et the men kept up their spirits. 
Ships cannot contend with the Arctic Seas, but men hope 
and strive as long as they retain available life ! They had 
of provisions, 5000 pounds of American pemmican (dried 
and cured or pulverized meat) in canisters, about 1500 
pounds of other canned goods, and 1500 pounds of bread, 
ammunition, 5 boats and 9 sleds. To carry along these 
necessary articles the men had to go over the road six times 
back and forth until the latter part of June, when the snow 
was melted — then they could bring forward their equipage 
in four loads, or seven journeys. At first they travelled 
thus 26 miles to make only two. But this advance was 
delusive — for, on the 23d, DeLong's observations proved 
that they had lost 27 miles by the drift to the northwest 
in excess of their progress south ! July 28th a landing was 
made on an island in lat. 76^ 38" N., long. 148^ 20" E. 
which DeLong named " Bennett Island," and the south, 
cliff " Cape Emma." The island is of volcanic origin, and 
is composed of trap, feldspathic and igneous rock, " with 
silica," says Dr. Ambler, " caught up in it in masses ; 



THEIR LAST BOAT JOtTRNEY. 579 

trap-rock with globules of silica, about the size of a pea," 
which " receive a bright polish from the finger, and are 
soft enough to be cut with a knife." Again the starry 
flag was unfurled, and possession taken of the island in 
the name of the President of the United States. All 
these newly discovered lands have since been entered on 
the charts, of U. S. Hydrographic Office, as the " DeLong 
Islands." Numerous birds, fit for food, so tame as to 
be easily knocked down, were found. On the east side 
were several grassy valleys. Lieut. Danenhower brought 
home geological specimens, and Dr. Ambler gathered 
amethysts, opals, and petrifactions, which, alas ! he was not 
destined to bring home. The party left the island Aug. 6th. 
After drifting along the north coast of Thaddeus Island, 
about the middle of the month they gained navigable 
water, and took to their beats. Capt. DeLong, Surgeon 
Ambler, Mr. Collins, and eleven of the crew, took the first 
cutter ; Lieut. Chipp, Mr. Dunbar, and six of the crew, 
the second cutter; Engineer Melville, Lieut. Danen- 
hower, and eight of the crew, the whale-boat. Sept. loth 
the Asiatic coast was in sight ; the boats landed on Sem- 
enovski Island, and parties were sent out hunting. Foot- 
prints of a civilized boot were found in a deserted hut. 
Sept. 1 2th the three boats again took the water, and in 
the midst of a great gale from the northeast, at 7 P. M. 
lost sight of each other, and parted forever. The whale-boat 
was saved only by the use of a drag, and incessant bailing. 
The second cutter commanded by Lieut. Chipp, w^as doubt- 
less swamped by the sea, as she has never been heard from. 
She was a bad sea-boat, and her dimensions were much 
less than either of the other boats, being but i6| 
feet in length, depth 2^ feet while the first cutter was 
20J feet, and the whale-boat 25^ feet long ; depth of each 
two feet two inches. The first cutter was fitted with 
mast and one shifting lug-sail, pulled six oars, and 
had the greatest carrying capacity of the three boats ; all 
the boats were clinker-built, copper-fastened, inside 
lining. 

The Wmale-Boat, Sept. 15, entered one of the eastern 
mouths of the Lena, pushed up the river, and on the 26th 
reached a small village, where a Siberian exile, Kopelloff, 



680 PROGUESS OK ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

taught Lieut. Danenhower Russian phrases. Oct. 17th, 
Dauenhower, with a dog-team, explored the coasts without 
success, for the missiug boats. On the 29th he received 
word that two of DeLong's men, Nindemann and Naros,' 
were met on their way to Bolun, in a starving condition. 
Food was sent to them by Engineer Melville. Danen- 
hower proceeded by deer-sled 600 miles to Verchoiansk, 
and with oxen, horses and deer 640 miles further to 
Yakutsk, which he reached Dec. 17, 188 1 ; thence he 
went forward in accordance with a dispatch to Melville 
from the Secretary of the Navy, to Irkoutsk, where he was 
assured by a Russian oculist that his eye would soon be 
well. Not being permitted on account of his health, to 
search for the survivors of the *' Jeannette,'' he turned 
over this duty, with all the documents, to Lieut. G. B. 
Harber and Master W. H. Schuetze, who had been sent 
out by the Navy Department for this purpose. He then 
travelled to St. Petersburg, arriving there May i, 1882. 
He reached New York City June i, accompanied by Ray- 
mond L. Newcomb, naturalist and taxidermist ; John 
Cole, boatswain, (whose mind was affected, and who is 
still in the government Insane Asylum at Washington), and 
the three. Chinese sailors, Charles Tong Sing, Ah Sing, 
and Ah Sam, who were of the " Jeannette " party. The 
rest of the whale-boat's crew had arrived Feb. 12, 1882. 

DeLong's Boat, as heretofore stated, lost sight of the 
whale-boat and second cutter, Sept. 12, 1881, — the first 
being ahead and the latter behind it. His journals thus 
record his rough experience in the gale and on shore : — 

** Step of mast carried away; lowered sail and rode to sea anchor ; 
very heavy sea, and hard squalls. Barometer falling rapidly. 

" 13th, very heavy northeast gale ... At 8 P. M. set a jury sail 
made of a sled cover, and kept the boat away to the westward before 
the sea ; — T7th grounded at a few hundred yards, landed at 8 P. M, ; 
dark and snowstorm, but Collins had a good fire going ; at 10.20 had 
landed everything, except boat oars, mast, sled, and alcohol break- 
ers ; — i8th, had fires going all the time to dry our clothes; we must 
look our situation in the face, and prepare to walk to a settlement. 

" September 19, ordered preparations to be made for leaving this 
place, and as a beginning, all sleeping bags are to be left behind. Left 
in instrument box a record, portions of which read thus : 

Lena Delta, Sept. 19. 1881. — Landed here on the evening of the 17th, 
and will proceed this afternoon to try and reach, with God's help, a 




" It was dashed upon the icefield mth afearf^l ora^h" — Page 



DELONG^S LAST JOURNAL, 581 

Settlement, the nearest of which I believe is ninety-five miles distant. 
We are all well, have four days' provisions, arms and ammunition, and 
are carrying with us only ship's books and papers, with blankets, 
tents, and some medicines, therefore, our chances of getting through 
seem good. ... At 2.45 went ahead, and at 4.30 stopped and camped. 
Loads too heavy — men used up. — Lee groaning and complaining, 
Erickson, Boyd, and Sam, hobbling. Three rests of fifteen minutes 
each of no use. Road bad. Breaking through thin crust ; occasion- 
ally up to the knees. Sent Nindemann back with Alexai and Dres- 
sier to deposit log-books. . . . Every one of us seems to have lost all 
feeling in his toes, and some of us even half-way up the feet. That 
terrible week in the boat has done us great injury ; opened our last can 
of pemmican, and so cut it that it must suffice for four days' food, then 
we are at the end of our provisions and must eat the dog (the last of 
the forty) unless Providence sends something in our way. When the 
dog is eaten — ? I was much impressed and derive great encouragement 
from an accident of last Sunday. Our Bible got soaking wet, and I 
had to read the Epistle and Gospel from my prayer book. According 
to my rough calculation it must have been the fifteenth Sunday after 
Trinity, and the Gospel contained some promises which seemed pecul- 
iarly adapted to our condition. (The passage is in Matthew v. 24). 
"September 21, at 3.30 came to a bend in the river making south, and 
to our surprise two huts, one seemingly new. At 9 P. M. a knock 
outside the hut was heard, and Alexai said, ' Captain, we have two 
reindeer,' and in he came bearing a hind quarter of meat. September 
24, commenced preparations for departure from the hut at seven 
o'clock. . . At 10 p. M. made a rough bed of a few logs ! wrapped our 
blankets around us and sought a sleep that did not come; 27th, 
made tea at daylight, and at 5.05 had our breakfast — four-four- 
teenths of a poinid of pemmican. . . At 9.4^ men arrived in camp, 
bringing a fine buck. Saved again ! ! September 30, one hundred and 
tenth day from leaving the ship. Erickson is no better, and it is a fore- 
gone conclusion that he must lose four of the toes of his right foot, 
and one of his left. The doctor commenced slicing away the flesh 
after brealcfast, fortunately without pain to the patient, for the forward 
part of the foot is dead : but it was a heart-rending sight to me, the 
cutting away of bones and flesh of a man whom I hoped to return 
sound and whole to his friends. October r. the doctor resumed the 
cutting of poor Erickson's toes this morning, only one toe left now. 
And where are we ? I think at the beginning of the Lena River at 
last. My chart is simply useless. Left a record in the hut that we 
are proceeding to cross to the west side to reach some settlement on 
the Lena River. October 3, nothing remains but the dog. I therefore 
ordered him killed and dressed by Iverson, and soon after a kind of 
stew made of such parts as could not be carried, of -which everybody 
except the doctor and myself eagerly partook, to us it was a nauseating 
mess. . . Erickson soon became delirious, and his talking was a horri- 
ble accompaniment to the wretchedness of our surroundings. During 
tlie night got his gloves off ; his hands were frozen. At 8 A. M. got 
Erickson (quite unconscious) and lashed on the sled under the cover of a 
hut, made a fire and got warm. . . Half a pound of dog was fried for each 
one, and a cup of tea given, and that constituted our day's food. At 



682 pROGEEss Of abctic discovery. 

8.45 A.M.. our messmate Erickson departed this lite. October 6, as 
to burying him I cannot dig a grave, the ground is frozen, and I have 
nothing to dig with. There is nothing to do but to bury him in the 
river. Sewed him up in the flaps of the tent, and covered him with 
my flag. Got tea ready, and with one-half ounce of alcohol, we will try 
to make out to bury him. But we are all so weak that I do not see 
how we are going to move. 

"At 12.40 P. M. read the burial service, and carried our departed 
ship-mate's body down to the river, where, a hole having been cut in 
the ice, he was buried ; three volleys from our two Remingtons being 
fired over him as a funeral honor. A board was prepared with this 
cut on it: — "In Memory, H. H. Erickson, Oct. 6th, 18.S1, U. S. S. 
Jeannette," And this will be stuck in the river bank abreast his 
grave. His clothing was divided up among his messmates. Iverson 
has his Bible and a lock of his hair, Kaock has a lock of his hair. . . 
Supper, 5 P. M., half a pound of dog meat and tea. October 9, sent 
Nindeman and Naros ahead for relief ; they carry their blankets, one 
rifle, forty pounds of ammunition, two ounces of alcohol. . . Under 
way again at 10.30, had for dinner one ounce of alcohol, Alexai shot 
three ptarmigan. Find canoe, lay our heads on it and go to sleep. 

" loth, eat deer-skin scraps. . . Ahead again till eleven. At three 
halted, used up. Crawled into a hole on the bank. Nothing for 
supper, except a spoonful of glycerine. 17th, Alexai died, covered 
him with ensign, and laid him in a crib. 21st, one hundred and thirty 
first day, Kaock was found dead at midnight. Too weak to carry the 
bodies out on the ice; the doctor, Collins, and I carried them around 
the corner out of sight. Then my eye closed up. Sunday, October 
23, one hundred and thirty-third day, everybody pretty weak — slept or 
rested all day, then managed to get enough wood in before dark. 
Read part of divine service, suffering in our feet. No foot gear. 

"Monday, Oct, 24., 130th day. A hard night. 

" Tuesday, Oct. 25, 135th day. No record. 

" Wednesday, Oct. 26 136th day. No record. 

"Thursday. Oct. 27, 137th day. Iverson broke down. 

" Friday, Oct, 28, 138th day. Iverson died during early morning. 

" Saturday, Oct. 29, 139th day. Dressier died during the night. 

" Sunday, Oct. 30, 140th day. Boyd and Gortz died during the 
night, Mr. Collins dying." 

Here DeLong's journal ends — the last words he ever 
wrote. His death, no doubt, came next — then the sur- 
geon's (Dr. James M. Ambler), and the last of the crew, 
Nindemann and Naros only being saved. Oct. 9th, they 
had been dispatched by DeLong to Kumack-surka, sup- 
posed to be 12 miles off— for assistance. On their way 
south, they killed one ptarmigan, and found a few fish — 
otherwise their food consisted of boot soles soaked and 
burnt to a crust, parts of their seal-skin pants so treated, 
willow tea, and burned deer bones found in a hut. Dys- 



DELONG AND PARTY FOUND DEAD. 583 

entery weakened them daily. On Oct. 22d, they were dis- 
covered by the natives, who fed them, and drove on deer 
sleds to Bulun, the most northern Russian settlement in 
Siberia, where they arrived with the sick and exhausted 
seamen Oct. 29. Here Naros wrote to the American min- 
ister at St. Petersburg, but his letter was sent to Engineer 
Melville, who joined them Nov. 3d, got all the details of 
DeLong's route, suffering and present location, and ar- 
ranged for immediate relief to the hoped-for survivors of 
the two boats. To the telegram which he sent to the Sec- 
retary of the Navy at Washington, which had to go the 
long journey to Irkutsk by couriers, and did not reach 
Secretary Hunt until Dec. 22, he received this reply : — 
" Omit no efforts, spare no expense in securing safety of 
men in second cutter. Let the sick and the frozen of 
those already rescued have every attention, and as soon 
as practicable have them transferred to milder climate. 
Department will supply necessary funds." Melville mean- 
time had searched the northern extremity of Lena Delta. 
He found DeLong's cache, marked by a tall flag-staff, on 
the shores of the ocean, and secured his log books, chro- 
nometers and other articles. He continued his search for 
three weeks without result, and then went to Yakutsk 
Dec. 30, to arrange for a more extended exploration. 
March 16, with Nindemann, and Bartlett, a fireman of the 
" Jeannette," he found the hut where, before crossing the 
river, DeLong and his comrades had slept ; on the 23d he 
found the ten men, dead ! Four poles and a Remingtcn 
rifle that projected above the snow, revealed their resting 
place. The bodies of DeLong, Surgeon Ambler, and Ah 
Sam, the Chinese cook, the last of the party to die, were 
found a few hundred yards away. DeLong's sad note- 
book, already quoted entire, was by his side ; his volu- 
minous records and books were under the poles. The 
bodies were frozen to the ground under the snow bank, 
and were pried loose, borne over the mountain to a high 
bluff, placed side by side in a box, and buried. A stone 
pyramid and cross 22 feet high, cross-arm 12 feet in 
length, was placed over the graves, and on it were re- 
corded the names of the twelve dead men of the first cut- 
ter. Alexai's body was not found ; Erickson had been 



584 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

buried by DeLong^ as his journal states, in the river. Mr. 
Newcomb, speaking in his narrative of the tomb and 
monument, sa3^s : " Standing as they do on an eminence, 
they are conspicuous objects, and may be seen at a dis- 
tance of 20 miles." 

Lieut. Melville and his party examined the sea-coast of 
the Delta, the north coast of Siberia, and the mouths of 
the rivers — but no trace of Lieut. Chipp's cutter or party 
could be found. He then left Bartlett with Lieut. Harber 
with a chart of his search, and returned by way of Ir- 
kutsk, with Nindemann and Naros, to New York, Sept. 
13, 1882. 

Lieut Harber and Mr. Schuetze searched the Delta 
thoroughly, but no trace of Lieut. Chipp was discovered. 
On June 23, 1883, Lieut. Harber in a letter to Secretary 
Chandler, described his removal of the remains of Lieut. 
DeLong and party. He travelled from Yakutsk Jan. 26th, 
with Mr. Schuetze, a Cossack interpreter, and some natives 
with reindeer and dogs, 2667 miles, to Mat-Vai, near the 
tomb, where he arrived March 2. He removed the bodies, 
rebuilt the tomb, and returning to Mat-Vai, made arrange- 
ments with the government physician for preserving the 
bodies in their frozen condition in temporary caskets lined 
with sheets of pure tin. At Orenburg the bodies were to 
be transferred to the metallic coffins sent from the United 
States for their long journey home. March 29, after a 
severe journey, the thermometer falling on one day to 
— 69 ° F., Yakutsk was reached with the bodies. Dec. 21, 
1883, the remains were carried to Irkutsk and borne in 
procession through the streets, escorted by a body of 
troops. In Feb., 1884, they were brought to New York 
City, and honored with suitable obsequies. 

The Bulletin de la Societe, 1883, says of this disastrous 
expedition : — " Honor to DeLong, who always knew how 
to exercise the fullest qualities of courage and command ! 
Honor to all his comrades, officers and sailors, whose spirit 
of discipline and sacrifice is a glory to the navy which 
counts such men within its ranks." 

Capt. C. L. Hooper, of the U. S. Revenue Steamer 
" Corwin " who was sent twice (i88o-'8i) to the Arctic 
Ocean, by the U, S. Treasury Department, to search for 



SECRETARY SHERMAn's TRIBUTE. 5b5 

the lost whale-sbips " Mount Wollaston " and "Vigilant" 
as well as to render every possible assistance "to the 
"Jeannette," and who sailed over 12,000 miles, and 
searched both the American and Asiatic shores — in the 
report of his second cruise made to Secretary Sherman, 
renders this appreciative tribute to DeLong and his com- 
panions : — 

" I desire to express my unbounded admiration for their fortitude, 
and their heroic exertions in making the most remarkable retreat over 
the ice ever made by men, from the place where the vessel sank to Lena 
Delta ; for their brave struggle for existence after reaching the land, 
and their cheerful resignation to fate when death in its most awful 
form stared them in the face and claimed them one by one. The 
diary of Captain DeLong, written almost as he drew his last breath, 
relates acts of heroism and self-sacrifice which are not excelled in the 
annals of history. Not the lease of them was the devotion of the faith- 
ful Alexai, an Innuit from St. Michael's, going out almost daily in 
search of game, freezing and starving as he was, but bringing the small 
amount secured to the commanding officer to be distributed fairly to 
every one of the party, and at night with the temperature at Zero, or 
perhaps lower, taking off his seal-skin robe to cover his beloved cap- 
tain. Surely when the final summing up shall be made in the list of 
heroes who have laid down their lives for the benefit of their fellow- 
men, the name of Alexai will not be forgotten 1 " 

DeLong's cruise in the " Jeannette," while it ended so 
disastrously for him and the greater number of his crew, 
has thrown considerable light on ice navigation, the Arctic 
tides and currents, and on Herald Island and Wrangell 
Land, named for Baron Wrangell (now a Russian Admiral) 
the Russian explorer, who first learned of its existence 
from the Siberian Indians. It is seldom possible to at- 
tain a high latitude in that part of the Arctic. No 
whalers, so far as known, have ever reached to 74^, (though 
some have gone in mild seasons as high as lat. 73° 30' N.), 
and the ice between Wrangell Land and Point Barrow 
forms and remains further south than in any other part of 
the frozen zones. The U. S. Steamers " Corwin " and 
" Rodgers " were able to locate dangerous shoals in the 
waters of Alaska and adjoining regions, and to make im- 
portant corrections of some coast lines on the Hydro- 
graphic charts. Wrangell Land (about 75 miles from the 
Siberian coast) was first reached and explored Aug. nth. 



1^ 



586 PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

1 88 1, by Capt. Hooper, in the U. S. Revenue Steamer 
" Corwin." He says in his report ; 

" Good observations for latitude and longitude, confirmed by sub- 
sequent bearings and observations taken off the east coast, showed 
the land on the American Hydrographic Chart to be laid down 18 
miles too far south, although the general trend of the coast is very 
nearly correct." 

"No warm current from Bering Sea enters Behring 
Strait," says Mr. W. H. Dall of the U. S. Coast and 
Geodetic Survey, in his report for i88o, " with the excep- 
tion of water from the neighboring rivers or the adjacent 
sounds. This water owes its heat directly to the local 
action of the sun's rays. The strait is incapable of carry- 
ing a current of warm water of sufficient magnitude to 
have any marked effect on the condition of the Polar 
Basin just north of it. The currents through the strait 
are cool and chiefly tidal, but with a preponderating ten- 
dency northward. The currents in the Arctic, north of 
the straits, are largely dependent Ofi the winds [this was 
Lieut. DeLong's experience], but have tendencies in cer- 
tain recognized directions. [DeLong found that the 
drifts of the packs varied constantly, and that he lost 
much ground some days in travelling on the ice]. Nothing 
in our knowledge of them offers any hope of an easier pas- 
sage toward the Pole, or in general, northward through 
their agency. Nothing yet revealed in the investigation 
of the subject in the least tends to support the widely 
spread but unphilosophical notion, that in any part oi the 
Polar Sea we may look for large areas free from ice." 
In confirmation of these views, we quote the later authority 
of Dr. Thomas Antisell, in the Bulletin of the American 
Geographical Society, No. II, 1883. He says : 

In May and June a broad warm current is found flowing around the 
shores of the Siu Kiu Islands and the Bonin Islands, which it has 
already reached in April, producing variable winds before the mon- 
soon is established in full influence. This current is felt off the shores 
of Japan and has already received its Japanese title — the Black Sea 
or current (Kuro Siwo) — from the remarkable dark color which its 
waters exhibit when looking over the ship's side, — it is a deep blue 
black, and it can be recognized with ease as soon as it is attempted to 
be crossed. Cradled in the China Sea, the offspring of the equate- 



POLAR CURRENTS — BERING STRAIT. 587 

Hal drift and its warm currents among the Philippine Islands, when it 
passes Formosa in early summer it is already a powerful current, and 
begins to send off lesser currents while proceeding on its northern 
route. But the waning power of the Kuro Siwo is indicated by the 
temperature of the months of October, November and December, in 
which it disappears between latitude 30 *" and 40 ". The whole ocean 
is cooling down, and the influence of the Asiatic shores as refrig- 
erators is apparent; the N. E. monsoon has set in and continues 
during the first three months of the new year to bring down the sur- 
face of the Pacific to that condition of equilibrium in which no warmth 
is com.municated from the air to the ocean. The S. W. monsoon has 
ceased to blow, and the Kuro Siwo as a current disappears, although 
its warming and equalizing diffusion continues in a mild way. . . .The 
North Pacific Ocean has, practically speaking, no northern outlet ; 
Bering Strait is but a cul de sac, and is no real gate of entrance into 
the Arctic Ocean. " 

These are the probably true discoveries of observation, 
and theoretical reasoning from ascertained facts, which 
the cruise of the " Jeannette " and consequently of the 
" Corwin " and " Rodgers," has added to the sum of 
human knowledge. If DeLong had not believed that 
Bering Sea was a " real gate of entrance to the Arctic 
Ocean," that Wrangell Land was a continent, and the 
" open Polar Sea " beyond, he would not have ventured 
among its treacherous ice-floes — but would have explored 
a better route. 

Bering Strait. — A description of this entrance to the 
Arctic Ocean will render the course of the Various vov- 
ages more clear to the general reader. The strait was 
named after the famous navigator, Vitus Bering (some- 
times called Behring), a Dane, born in 1680, who entered 
the newly formed navy of Peter the Great in 1704, and in 
1728 was appointed to conduct an expedition in the Sea 
of Kamtchatka. Following the coast northward he 
rounded, it was supposed, the northeast point of Asia, 
and reached the strait to which he gave his name. — This 
strait separates Asia from America, and connects the 
Pacific with the Arctic Ocean. The narrowest part is 
near lat. 66°, between East Cape in Asia and Cape Prince 
of Wales in America, distant from each other in a direc- 
tion from northwest to southeast, nearly 50 miles. The 
greatest depth, some 30 fathoms, is towards the middle, 
and the water is shallower towards the American Qoast 



588 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

than the Asiatic. Bering Sea is a part of the North 
Pacific Ocean, is bounded north by Bering Strait, east by 
Alaska, south by the Aleutian islands, and west by Kam- 
tchatka, and is also called the Sea of Kamtchatka. 
Bering Island is the most westerly of the Aleutian 
islands, in lat. 55^* 22' N., long. 166° E. It has an area 
of 30 square miles, and is noteworthy as the place where 
Bering, its discoverer, was wrecked, and died in 1741. 



Relief Expeditions of the U. S. Steamers '* Corwin " 

and " Rodgers." 

In 1879 the American whalers returned late in the 
season without two of their number — the "Mount Wollas- 
ton," under Capt. Nye, of New Bedford, Mass., and the 
** Vigilant," and also without any intelligence of the " Jean- 
nette " ; the former was last seen Oct. loth, and the latter, 
in the same waters, not since Aug. 1879. On May 15th, 
1880, Secretary of the Treasury Sherman, sharing in 
the general anxiety, dispatched the Revenue Steamer 
" Corwin," Capt. C. L. Hooper, from San Francisco, " for 
the enforcement of the provisions of law and protection of 
the interests of the U. S. Government on the seal islands 
and the sea-otter hunting grounds of Alaska ; but, addi- 
tionally, to afford assistance to the two whalers ' Mount 
Wollas'ton " and " Vigilant," and to the " Jeannette," if they 
should possibly be fallen in with." The " Corwin " 
reached Ounalaska in June, and on June nth, encoun- 
tered the first ice packs north of Kounivak Island, in lat. 
60^ N., long. 160° W. On the 17th, escaping from the 
floes, she proceeded to Norton Sound, and thence to St. 
Lawrence Island, where the inhabitants had been deci- 
mated by starvation. In some villages hundreds were 
found dead and unburied — in two, all were dead, from 
the intense cold and lack of food. On June 28th, the 
Arctic Ocean was entered and traversed for 6,000 miles 
until Oct. 2d ; but the " Corwin " could obtain no news of 
the lost whalers. Capt. Bauldry, of the " Helen Mar " of 
New Bedford, saw them last 40 miles southeast of Herald 




UNFURLING THE FLAG JN THE ARCTIC, 



I 



COAL SEAMS OF THE ARCTIC. 589 

Island, whence they were driven northwesterly by a sud- 
den change of wind, and shut in by heavy masses of ice. 
East of Cape Lisburne, which the " Corwin " sailed 
around on July 22d, in lat. 68° 50' N., long. 164^ 55' W. 
coal seams were visited. Capt. Hooper says : " The veins 
of coal on the face of the cliff can be seen distinctly at 
the distance of one mile." When these coal beds were 
formed, heat prevailed in the Arctic regions; vegetation 
and animal life flourished ! Geologists can estimate how 
many thousand years ago this stupendous fact in nature 
happened, and how many cycles will transpire before the 
same climate shall again transform the dreary desolation 
which reigns in the frozen zones. In a previous page we 
have given on this subject, the calculations of Mr. Croll, 
one of the most reliable of English scientists. 

On Sept. nth, the " Corwin " passed southward of 
Herald Shoal, and followed the ice-pack southwest until 
Hooper saw the high peaks of Wrangell Land. He ex 
presses DeLong's opinion that it " is a large island," and 
adds, " possibly of a chain that passes through the Polar re- 
gions to Greenland." — Distances are deceptive, land 7nir- 
ages are frequent in the Polar Seas. On this point we quote 
the words of Dr. Rosse, the surgeon of the " Corwin " : 

" Not the least curious of the atmospheric phenomena are the 
modifications of nervous excitability in connection with the percep- 
tion of light — the wonderful optical illusions witnessed from time to 
time during periods of extraordinary and unequal refraction. One 
day in July, at St. Michael's, I saw on looking northward an island 
high up in the air and inverted ; some distant peaks, invisible on or- 
dinary occasions, loomed up, and at one time the very shape of a tower- 
topped building magnified, and suddenly changing, assumed the shape 
of immense factory chifnneys. Again, off Port Clarence was witnessed 
the optical phenomenon of dancing mountains and the mirage of ice 
fifty miles away, which caused our experienced ice pilot to say : ' No 
use to go in here, don't you see the ice! ' 

Again, the mountains of Behring Straits have so betrayed the im- 
agination that they have been seen to assume the most fantastical and 
grotesque shapes, at one moment that of a mountain not unlike Table 
Mountain, off the Cape of Good Hope; then the changing diorama 
shows the shape of an immense anvil, followed by the likeness of an 
enormous gun mounted en barbette, the whole standing out in silhouette 
against the background, while looking in an opposite direction at an- 
other time a whahng vessel, turned bottom upward, appeared in the 
sky. On another occasion, in lat. 70*^, when the state of the air was 
favorable to extraordinary refraction, a white gull swimming on the 




590 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

water in the distant horizon was taken for an iceberg, or more correctly 
a floe-berg ; other gulls in the distance, looming up, looked for all the 
world like white tents on a beach, while others resembled men with 
white shirts paddling a canoe/' 

Captain Hooper says, of the ice-fields : — 

" The ice of the Arctic Ocean is never at rest. Even in the coldest 
winters it is liable to displacement and pressure by the currents of the 
air and water. The expansions and contractions, due to changes in 
temperature, also assist in this disturbance. Owing to these com- 
bined causes, the surface of the ice always presents a rough, uneven 
appearance. 

" Along the edge of the pack, during the summer, is generally found 
a belt of drift-ice, varying in width according to the direction of the 
wind. When the wind blows off the pack, drift-ice is frequently 
found fifteen or twenty miles from the main body. At times the pack 
itself opens in leads, by which it may be penetrated for several miles. 
In venturing within the limits of the pack, however, a sharp watch 
must be kept on the movements of the ice and a retreat made at the 
first indication oi its closing. 

*' A vessel beset in the pack is as helpless as if she was as far in- 
land, while there is imminent danger of being crushed at any moment. 

" When the wind blows on the pack, the drift-ice becomes as close 
as the pack itself. . . 

" The " barrier." on that part of the ice which does not.break np, 
varies slightly in position from year to year, but generally may be 
looked for near Icy Cape, during September. It extends westerly 
as far as Herald Shoal, where it takes a, northwesterly direetiou to 
the vicinity of Herald Island. Here in August and September, a lane of 
open water is generally found extending to the northward. This 
space is at first filled with broken ice. On our second attempt to 
reach this island, we steamed up this lane over fifty miles, with the 
pack in sight from the masthead on both sides. The last twenty miles 
we were compelled to force our way through drift-ice." 

Captain Hooper thus describes the Eskimo Indians of the 
North American coast : — 

"These Innuits, by which name only these people know each other, 
are totally unlike the Eskimos described in books of travel, being tall 
and muscular, many of them over six feet in height : one at Cape 
Kruzenstem fully six feet six inches. Their remarkable physical de- 
velopment seems due to a mixture with the Indians of the interior, 
those living on the Yukon and Tennewah Rivers and other places, 
having long muscular limbs and erect figures, showing courage, strength 
and endurance. Like all aborigines, the men are lazy and compel the 
women to perform all the manual labor ; Captain Hooper saw two women 
each with a child on her back, drawing a thirty-foot net for salmon, 
while the men stood by smoking, without offering to assist, although 
it was evident the task was too much for the women. 




*' The ice burst,'' ^c. — Page 



K^OilTIl A3krERICA:N^ ESKIMOS. 591 

"The seal may be called their main stay; the flesh and oil form 
the chief article of subsistence, the skin furnishes clothing, tents, aud 
boats ; cut into thongs, it is used for making nets for catching fish and 
birds. The oil is burned in lamps which light and warm the tupiks 
during the long, dark winter nights. 

"They hunt seals on the ice in the spring and fall, and show 
themselves marvels of patience, lying flat on the ice for hours, waiting 
'for a seal to appear. The seal is very shy, and seldom moves far 
from the hole in the ice which they keep open, by scratching. The 
hunter approaches cautiously, by crawling over the ice, his body 
nearly prostrate, raised slightly on one elbow. He has a piece of 
bear-skin, about two feet long and ^ foot wide, which he attaches to 
his leg on the side upon which he rests; this enables him to slide 
more easily over the ice. The elbow rests upon a ring of grass. He 
carries a stick, to which is attached the claw of some animal or bird, 
to use in imitating the scratching of the seal on the ice. In the other 
hand he supports his rifle, in readiness for instant use. 

" In hunting whales the natives use the " oomiak." They use 
spears, with heads of flint or walrus ivory, pointed with iron ; the 
pole is about six feet long, and attached to it by a line of seal-thongs 
is a seal-skin poke. A number of these spears being thrown into the 
whale, the pokes prevent him from going far below the surface and 
enable the hunters to track him, and be on hand to kill him when he 
comes up to breathe. The carcass, including flesh and blubber, is 
used for food, and is the property of every man, woman and child in 
the settlement; the bone however belongs to those who took part in 
the capture. The maxillary bones of the whale are cut into strips 
and used for shoeing the runners of their sleds, and for this purpose 
are said to be superior to iron or steel. 

"These natives are nomadic in their habits; although they have 
winter-houses, to which they return each fall, they travel all summer. 
Their manner of travelling is peculiar to themselves ; they use the 
oomiak, in which is stowed everything belonging to the entire family, 
ejccept the working-dogs. This oomiak is a boat built of walrus- 
hide or seal-skin drawn over a wooden-frame about thirty feet long, 
six feet wide, and two and a half feet deep. The frame is fastened 
with seal-skin thongs and made with slip-joints, to allow it to work in 
a sea-way. Thev are flat-bottomed, sharp at both ends, and with very 
little shear. The men use paddles and the women oars; they carry a 
square sail. When they wish to stop for a night or day, they land, 
pitch their tents, take everything out of the oomiak, and turn it up on 
the beach, where they are quite as much at home as in their winter- 
houses; men, women, children, and dogs forming a happy, noisy, 
dirty family. Thev eat when they feel hungry, which seems to be 
nearly all the time, and sleep without regard to time. The dogs eat 
when thev can, and steal everything they can get their teeth through.' 

** The native language differs very materally in different localities. 
Our interpreter from St. Michael's was of no use to us north of Kotzebue 
Sound, and even there it was diflicult for him to understand the dia- 
lect. The change is gradual. At each settlement from Cape Prince 
of Wales north we observed a slight difference; the sound of words 
changed so as to be almost unrecognizable, or the words were dropped 



692 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

entirely and new ones substituted, until almost an entire change had 
been effected in the language; so that a vocabulary made at Cape 
Prince of ^ales would be almost useless at Point Hope, and entirely 
so at Icy Cape or Point Barrow. A few substantives alone re- 
main the same all along the coast. 

'* The religious belief of the Innuit is of a crude, indefinite nature, 
to the effect that there is a Power which rewards good Innuits and | 
punishes bad ones, after death, by sending them to different places. 
At some localities they told us that the good went to a place above, 
while at others it was thought that the place was below. They have 
only a confused idea of the subject, however, and seemed anxious to 
avoid speaking of it anymore than was necessary. Their belief evi- 
dently teaches nothing of truthfulness, honesty, or other virtue, or that 
cleanliness is next to godliness. 

'Shamanism' is followed by all these people, and, notwithstanding 
the numerous tricks practised upon them, they seem to have implict 
faith in it. Even the ' shamans' themselves show an earnestness in 
their work that makes us wonder, after all, if there is not some virtue 
in it. Wrangell, who seems to have given the subject some attention, 
says: 

" The 'shamans ' have been represented as being universally mere 
knavish deceivers, and no doubt this- is true of many of them who go 
about the country exhibiting all kinds of juggling tricks to obtain pres- 
ents ; but the history of not a few is, I believe, very different. Cer- 
tain individuals are born with ardent imaginations and excitable nerves. 
Thev grow up amid a general belief in ghosts, ' shamans,' and mysteri- 
ous powers exercised by the latter. The credulous youth is strangely 
affected, and aspires to participate in these supernatural communica- 
tions and powers, but no one can teach him how he can do so. i*'e 
retires, therefore, from his fellows ; his imagination is powerfully 
wrought upon by solitude, by the contemplation of the gloomy aspect 
of surrounding nature, by long vigils and fasts, and by the use of nar- 
cotics and stimulants, until he becomes persuaded that he, too, has 
seen the mysterious apparitions of which he has heard from his boy- 
hood. He is then received as a 'shaman,' with many ceremonies 
performed in the silence and darkness of the night; is given the 
magic drum, etc. Still all his actions continue, as before, to be the 
result of his individual character. A true ' shaman,' therefore, is not 
an ordinary deceiver, but rather a psychological phenomenon, by no 
means unworthy of attention. Always after seeing them operate, 
they have left on my mind a long continued and gloomy impression ; 
the wild look, the bloodshot eye, the laboring breast, the convulsive ^i 
utterance, the seemingly involuntary distortion of the face and whole | 
body, the streaming hair, the hollow sound of the drum — all conspired ; 
to produce the effect; and I can well conceive that these should appear . 
to the ignorant and superstitious savage as the works of evil spirits." 

" The natives are inveterate smokers. I believe that 
every man, woman and child in Arctic-Alaska smokes a 
pipe. They manufacture their own pipes of brass, copper 
and iron. The stem is of wood, about ten inches long, and I 



EXPLORATION OF HERALD ISLAND. 693 

is in two pieces bound together with strips of whalebone 
or sinew. The bowls are often made of two or three kinds 
of metal, as neatly joined as could be done by any jeweller. 
A small skin bag, hung from the neck holds the pipe, and 
a smaller bag, tobacco, flint, and steel, also a quantity of 
wild cotton soaked in a solution of gunpowder which is 
used as tinder. ... In using the pipe a small quantity of 
hair from an at-te-gheox other convenient skin, is put in the 
bottom of the bowl, and over this some finely-cut tobacco, 
the bowl holding only a small pinch. . . The native swal- 
lows the smoke, which he retains in his lungs as long as 
possible — sometimes until he falls over senseless ; having 
the appearance of a person under the influence of opium. 
This state lasts but a few minutes, when the same per- 
formance is again gone through with." 

The " Corwin " returned to San Francisco, Oct. 2, 1880. 
Capt. Hooper made his report Nov. i, 1880 — See "Treas- 
ury Department, No. 118 — from which the above interest- 
ing extracts are taken. 

April 21, 1881, the "Corwin" was dispatched on an- 
other cruise to pursue inquiries for the missing ships and 
crews. She sailed from San Francisco, May 4. At Ouna- 
laska or Illialook, in the Aleutian Islands, the population 
(348 in number) were nearly all sick with pleuro-pneu- 
monia, and were treated by Surgeon Irving C. Rosse, of 
the " Corwin." The ship arrived at St. Paul's May 23, 
and sailed thence for Cape Thaddeus, Siberia. On the 
29th she anchored on the south side of St. Lawrence Bay. 
Cape Serdze Kamen was the next point, where ice as high 
as 30 feet extended two to three miles from shore. Capt. 
Hooper was conducted on a sled to Topkan, the native 
village near the wintering place of the " Vega " in 1878-9, 
lat. 69^ 28', long. 175^ 10' N. " In one of the houses," 
he says, " we were shown a silver fork and spoon which 
had been presented to one of the old men by Professor 
Nordenskiold, who was called by them Capt. " En shall." 

Early in June, arriving near Kolintchin Island, after 
escaping dangerous ice-packs, a sledge party was sent 
along the Asiatic coast as far as Cape Waukeram. Here 
relics of the lost whalers were obtained from the natives, 
who had taken them from the wreck of the '* Vigilant," in 
the cabin of which vessel they found four corpses. 



694 PROGRESS O^ ARCTIC D18C0TERY. 

July 30, the " Corwin " sighted Herald Island, and suc- 
ceeded in making fast to ground ice about a cable's length 
from shore. The island was explored for the first time in 
its history by the " Corwin's " party. Prof. John Muir, of 
California, scientist, Mr. Nelson, botanist, and nearly all 
the officers and crew landed over ice full of hollows and 
hummocks, and many scrambled a thousand feet up the 
precipitous rocks which, at the slightest touch, often came 
thundering down. "The entire island is a mass of gran- 
ite, with the exception of a patch of metamorphic slate 
near the center, and no doubt owes its existence, with so 
considerable a height, to the superior resistance this gran- 
ite offers to the degrading action of the northern ice-sheet, 
traces of which are plainly shown. Standing as it does 
alone on the Polar Sea, it is a fine glacial monument. 
The island is about six miles long by two wide ; its great- 
est height as shown by an accurately tested barometer, is 
1200 feet. Several species of plants were found on its 
summit, and birds covered the cliffs. Wrangell Land was 
seen, its eastern coast about 45 miles distant. The mid- 
night sun was shining, and Prof. Muir says : " The hour 
which I spent alone was one of the most impressive of my 
life, and I would fain have watched here all the strange 
night." 

The Albatross. — Mr. E. W. Nelson, the botanist andnaturalist of the 
" Corwin, " thus speaks of the Albatross^ which he saw in the North 
Pacific : — 

" The ' gony, ' as this bird is called on the North Pacific, is an abun- 
dant bird over this entire stretch of the ocean. It takes company 
with a vessel on its leaving San Francfsco, and follows it to the neigh- 
borhood of the Aleutian Islands, where it disappears : and, as we 
noted in October, 188 1, soon after we left Ounalaska these birds ap- 
peared and were with us continually in pleasant or stormy weather, 
until we approached San Francisco, The majority seen were young, 
the light-colored birds being observed only at intervals. Nearly all 
are dark smock brown, but here and there may be seen one with a 
ring of white feathers around the rump at the base of the tail, 
and all have a marked line of white surrounding the Ijase of the bill. 
Those with the white on the tail almost invariably have a white spot 
under each eye. The' graceful evolutions of these birds afford one of !' 
the most pleasing sights during a voyage across the North Pacific, I 
and they are a source of continual interest during the otherwise mon- \ 
otonous passage. " I: 

This mysterious bird has given rise among sailors to many super- 



THE CORWIN AT WRAISTGELL ISLAND. 595 

stitious legends. One of these is embodied by Coleridge in his wierd 
" Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner : " 

At length did cross an Albatross, 

Through the fog it came ; 
As if it had been a Christian soul, 

We hailed it in God's name. 

It ate the food it ne'er had eat. 

And round and round it flew ; 
The ice did split with a thunder-fit. 

The helmsman steered us through ! 

And a south wind sprung up behind. 

The Albatross did follow. 
And every day, for food or play, 

Came to the mariner's hollo ! 

Wrangell (or Kellett) Land. — This mysterious ice-en- 
girdled land, up to DeLong's time supposed to be a con- 
tinent, was also first explored by the " Corwin," Aug. ii, 
1881, the American flag raised "in token of ownership," 
and the island rechristened " New Columbia." The 
Corwin anchored in a deep and rapid river, lat. 71^ 4', 
long. 177 ^ 40' W., which, as it was seen from the 
" brown and naked " cliffs, penetrated the mountains at 
least 40 miles. " We examined the shore line," says the 
report, ** with our glasses while approaching and leaving 
the land north and south, and saw nothing but perpen- 
dicular hills of slate from 100 to 300 feet high, the sloping 
banks of the river being the only place for miles where a 
party travelling over the ice would be able to effect a 
landing." The whole view was *' carefully scanned for 
signs of human life, past or present," but none were seen. 
Capt. Hooper adds, " This is undoubtedly the part of the 
land seen by Capt. Kellett, R. N., in 1849, when he dis- 
covered and landed on Herald Island." The new name 
given this island by Capt. Hooper has not usurped the 
popular appellation of " Wrangell Land," and the Russian 
explorer's original discovery justly entitles it to bear his 
name. Nor will the United States be eager to assert its 
title to this desolate waste. The " Corwin " returned to 
San Francisco Oct. 21, 188 1. In his two cruises Capt. 
Hooper had travelled over 12,000 miles, and searched for 
the crews of the " Wollaston," the *' Vigilant," and the 
" Jeannette," all along the American and Asiatic shores. 




596 THE. NOUTHEAST PASSAGE. 

Cruise of the U. S. Steamer " Rodgers." — Congress 
passed an act approved by President Garfield, March 3, 
1881, appropriating $175,000 "to enable the Secretary of 
the Navy immediately to charter, or purchase, equip and 
supply a vessel for the prosecution of a search for the 
steamer " Jeannette," and such other vessels as might be 
found to need assistance during said cruise — provided that 
the vessel be wholly manned by volunteers from the 
Navy." Under this authority the Arctic steam whaler 
" Mary and Helen," was purchased at San Francisco for 
$100,000, and was re-named the "Rodgers," after the 
President of the Naval Board. Lieut. Berry was placed 
in command ; officers and crew, all volunteers, numbered 
35. The ship left San Francisco June 16. Two native 
hunters and dog-drivers were hired at St. Lawrence Bay, 
and, Aug. 20th, Capt. Berry entered the dreadful Arctic 
Ocean. He visited Herald Island, and next anchored in 
six fathoms on the southern coast of Wrangell Island, half 
a mile from land, and sent search parties ashore. The 
cairn which Surgeon Rosbe of the " Corwin " had left 
there Aug. 12th, was found. Another party skirted the 
coast, and Lieut. Berry's party went 20 miles inland north- 
west by north near the centre of the island. They as- 
cended one peak 2500 leet high. It was definitely deter- 
mined that this land is an island 70 miles long east and 
west, and 35 miles broad, including the sandy beach. It 
is bounded on the coast line by hills, and the whole island 
is made up of precipitous peaks and valleys. The 
" Rodgers " left this spot Sept. 13, and steamed north- 
ward into an impenetrable pack in lat. 73° 9' N., long. 
174*' 8' West; on the i8th she reached lat. 73® 44' N., 
long. 171^ 48' W. in 82 fathoms of water. About Sept. 27, 
on Tiapka Island, coast of Siberia, Berry left a party con- 
sisting of Master C. F; Putnam, U. S. N., Surgeon Jones, 
W. H. Gilder, formerly of Lieut. Schwatka's expedition, 
two seamen and a native, with a year's supply, and instruc- 
tions to search the coast westward for the lost explorers 
and whalers. Oct. 15 the " Rodgers " stopped at St. Law- 
rence Bay to winter. But before the provisions and sup- 
plies were transferred to the shore, the " Rodgers " was 
burned up. The fire originated in the hold, it was thought. 



I 



PEOGHESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 597 

from spontaneous combustion or from the donkey boiler. 
A large part of the stores were consumed. The crew es- 
caped to the shore in the boats, loaded with what they 
could save from the flames, and next day found a refuge' 
in the hospitable villages of the natives. Master Putnam, 
who had been left in charge of an exploring party near 
Cape Serdze, heard from the natives of the destruction of 
the ship, and conducted four sledges loaded with provis- 
ions for the relief of the crew. These he delivered Jan. 
4, 1882, and in returning to his camp, driving a team of 
nine dogs, he lost his way in crossing the bay and was 
carried out to sea on an ice-floe. Although parties were 
sent out to search for him, he was not found ; though seen 
three days afterwards on the floe, the boats were cut by 
the ice in attempting to reach him. Six of the dogs came 
ashore Jan. 29, without harness. 

Lieut. Berry had meantime joined the search party at 
Cape Serdze, and searched the coast westward. He 
overtook Engineer Melville's search party, whose course 
has been already described, and learning of the me lan- 
choly end of DeLong, he went to Yakutsk, and thence re- 
turned home. The crew of the " Rodgers " were taken 
from St. Lawrence Bay by the whaling barque " North 
Star," May 8, and on her way to Ounalaska were trans 
ferred to the " Corwin," and landed at San Francisco 
June 23, 1882. Congress appropriated $3,000 to "suit- 
ably reward the natives " who housed, fed, repaired the 
clothing, and befriended the officers and men of the 
" Rodgers " after their vessel was burned. 

The Royal Geographical Society, London, thus com- 
mended the work of Lieut. Berry, at its meeting Dec. 12, 
188 1 : — "The complete exploration of Wrangell Land by 
the officers of the " Rodgers " is a great geographical 
achievement. For this far-off island, so long heard of and 
at last sighted, but always on the very threshold of the 
unknown, has been one of the longed-for goals of discov- 
ery ever since the Tohuktchis told Baron Wrangell that it 
could be seen on a clear day from Cape Jakan. They 
said that herds of deer sometimes came from thence 
across the ice ; and their traditions related how the 
Onkilon, Omoki and other tribes had wandered northward 



598 AROUND ASIA AND AMERICA. 

over the ice to distant lands, so that there was a halo of 
romance over the Siberian ' Ultima Thule,' which was 
heightened by the gallant but vain efforts of Wrangell 
himself to reach it by dog-sledges in 1822 and 1823. At 
length it was actually sighted by Capt. Kellett in 1849, 
when he discovered Herald Island in lat. 71° 12' N. The 
American Capt. Long also sighted it in 1867, and others 
have done so since. But now it has been thoroughly ex- 
plored ; it is 80 miles from the nearest point on the Si- 
berian coast ; Herald Island lies 30 miles due east." 



Cruise of U. S. Steamer "Alliance," June i6-0ct. 

II, 1881. 

After the *' Rodgers " was sent through Bering Strait, 
the U. S. screw steamer " AUiance," Capt. Wadleigh, was 
dispatched, June 16, to cruise for the lost "Jeannette" 
between Greenland, Iceland, and the coasts of Norway 
and Spitzbergen *' as far north as lat. 77**, or further." 
She reached Raykiavik, where the parliament of Iceland 
was sitting, July 12. July 24 she anchored in the harbor 
of Hammerfest, Norway. Thence she sailed to Bel Sound 
and Green Harbor, Spitzbergen, and cruised along the 
edge of the pack to lat. 80*^ 10' N. After cruising until 
Sept. 25, deeming it unsafe to pass over to the east coast 
of Greenland, Captain W. returned to New York Oct. 11, 
1881. This cruise was comparatively without result ; of 
course nothing was heard of the " Jeannette," which was 
about 10,000 miles further east on the North Asiatic coast. 

Northeast Passage. — Attempts to penetrate Bering 
Strait and the Polar Sea, and to reach Eastern Asia by 
coasting along the North of Europe and Asia, date back 
as far as 1553. In the latter year Sir Hugh Willoughby 
sailed from England in three ships, fitted out under the 
direction of the celebrated Sebastian Cabot. The ships 
rounded the North Cape, where one was driven apart 
during a violent storm, and subsequently entered the 
White Sea, then unknown to Western Europeans. The 
other two drifted hither and thither in the vast waste of 



AROUND ASIA AND AMERICA. 599 

water surrounding the pole, till the navigators sighted 
Nova Zembla. They sailed back along the north of Rus- 
sia, and took up their winter quarters on the coast of 
Russian Lapland, where they were subsequently found 
frozen to death. None of the expeditions of that age, 
English or Dutch, ever succeeded in penetrating farther 
than the east coast of Nova Zembla, though they extended 
geographical knowledge by making accurate surveys of 
Northern Europe and the adjacent islands of Spitzbergen, 
Nova Zembla, Waygatz, &c. In 1 594-1 596, William 
Barentz, Dutch navigator, made three expeditions, in the 
third of which he nearly reached Icy Cape, about long. 
I GO*' E., but was imprisoned by the ice, and died before 
the winter closed. Henry Hudson also made two memo- 
rable and disastrous expeditions in 1 608-1 609. All the 
progress made so far proved only that during favorable 
sea'sons a passage could be found to the eastward. The 
expeditions both overland and by water, undertaken by 
the Russian government, which started from various 
points on the north and east coasts of Siberia, were more 
successful — especially that of Capt. Bering, in 1741, which 
sailed from Petropaulovski to the east cape, and those of 
Shalaroff, and of Billings. The expeditions of Baron 
Nordenskiold in 1875-1876, in which he reached the east- 
ern shores of the Gulf of Obi ; and his cruise in the 
"Vega," in 1878-1879, in which he rounded Cape Chel- 
yuskin, and sailed in September from the mouths of the 
Lena for Bering's Strait, have been alluded to in connection 
with DeLong and Hooper's expeditions. To him belongs 
the high honor of having completed the long-sought 
Northeast passage around Asia. This was a notable 
achievement — a triumph over the adverse forces of Nature 
which foreshadows further conquests. The advantages 
which it was expected Commerce would derive from this 
discovery are still intangible ; but the incidental benefit to 
mankind of all the expeditions has been great — both of 
those by Bering Strait and Baffin Bay. The supposed dis- 
covery of the Northwest Passage by Sir John Franklin, and 
its indisputable accomplishment by McClure, in 1852, 
when he penetrated from Bering's Strait to Baffin's Bay — 
the various channels of communication traversed by sub- 



V 



600 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

sequent explorers between Davis' and Bering Strait, such 
as the route by Hudson's Bay, Fox Channel, Fury and 
Hecla and Bellot Straits, into Franklin Channel, and 
thence by either the McClintock or the Victoria Channel, 
or the routes by Lancaster Sound, and the McClintock 
Channel, Prince Regent Inlet, or Prince of Wales Strait 
to the open sea north of Alaska, though useless in a mer- 
cantile point of view — have contributed so largely to the 
advancement of science that their cost has been well re- 
paid. The results are summarized in the following re- 
ports : — 

Lieutenant N. F. Maury, U. S. N., says : 

" Voyages of discovery, with their fascinations and their charms 
have led many a noble champion both into the torrid and frigid zones ; 
and notwithstanding the hardships, sufferings and disasters to which 
Northern parties have found themselves exposed, seafaring men, as 
science has advanced, have looked with deeper and deeper longings 
toward the mystic circles of the polar regions. There icebergs are 
framed and glaciers launched. There the tides have their cradle, the 
whales their nursery. There the winds complete their circuits and the 
currents of the sea their rounds in the wonderful system of oceanic 
circulation. There the Aurora Borealis is lighted up and the trem- 
bling needle brought to rest ; and there, too, in the mazes of that mystic 
circle, terrestrial forces of occult power and of vast influence upon the 
well being of man are continually at play. "Within the Arctic circle is 
the pole of the winds and the poles of the cold, the pole of the earth 
and of the magnet. It is a circle of mysteries, and the desire to enter 
it, to explore its untrodden wastes and secret chambers, and to study 
its physical aspects, has grown into a longing. Noble daring has made 
Arctic ice and waters classic ground. It is no feverish excitement nor 
vain ambition that leads man there. It is a higher feeling, a holier 
motive — a desire to look into the works of creation, to comprehend 
the economy of our planet — and to grow wiser and better by the 
knowledge. 

"The expeditions which have been sent to explore unknown seas 
have contributed largely to the extent of human knowledge, and they 
have added renown to nations, and lustre to diadems. Navies are not 
all for war. Peace has its conquests, Science its glories; and no navy 
can boast of brighter chaplets than those which have been gathered in 
the fields of geographical exploration and physical research." 

The Smithsonian Report of 1856, says : 

" The natural history results (of Lieut. Rodgers' Bering Straits Ex- 
pedition) were of great magnitude, and embraced many new and rare 
species; the collections made by the naturalists, Stimpson and Wright, 
being made first under Commander Ringgold in the South Pacific and 



EESULTS SUMMARIZED. 601 

China Seas and afterward largely increased by those secured around 
Japan, Kamtchatka, in the straits, and on the Californian coast. The 
whole of a very rich collection of invertebrates, made in the Arctic 
seas was dredged from the ' Vincennes ' by Capt. Rodgers himself. 

Admiral Sherard Osborn, of the British Navy, said, 
1874: 

" Those who assert that our labors and researches have merely add- 
ed so many miles of unprofitable coast line to our charts, had better 
compare our knowledge of Arctic phenomena to-day with the theories 
enunciated by men of learning and repute a century ago. They should 
confront our knowledge of 1874 with that of iSoo upon the natural 
history, meteorology, climate, and winds of the Arctic regions. They 
must remember it was there we obtained the clue, still unravelled, to 
the laws of those mysterious currents which flow through the wastes 
of the ocean like two mighty rivers — the Gulf Stream and the Ice 
Stream; must remember that it was there— in Boothia — that the two 
Rosses first reached the Magnetic Pole, that mysterious point round 
which revolves the mariner's compass over one half of the northern 
hemisphere; and let the world say whether the mass of observations 
collected by our explorers on all sides of that Magnetic Pole have 
added nothing to the knowledge of the laws of magnetic declination 
and dip. . . We have discovered how Providence has peopled the 
polar regions to the extreme latitude yet reached, with the animals on 
which they subsist." 

Admiral Beechey said : 

" Before the voyages to the North all was darkness and terror, all 
beyond the North Cape a blank; but, since then, each successive voy- 
ge has swept away some gloomy superstition, and has brought to light 
some new phenomenon " 

Hon. Judge Daly, President of the American Geo- 
graphical Society, and an active promoter of American 
Expeditions to the Arctic, says : 

" Explorations for the discovery of the Northwest Passage, and those 
sent out for the relief of Sir John Franklin or other explorers, resulted 
in the discovery of that great region lying within the Arctic Circle 
between 60° and 130" west longitude, up to Cape Perry, and 71^ 23' 
west longitude and 77° 6' north latitude; or, from Davis Strait to 
Cape Bathurst; embracing Banks, Prince Albert, and Prince Patrick's 
Lands, Melville Island and Sound, McClintock's Channel, Bathurst 
Island, Victoria, Prince of Wales, and King William Land, Boothia, 
and Gulf of Boothia, North Somerset, North Devon, Melville Pen- 
insula, Cockburn Island, Grinnell, Ellesmere, and Washington Lands, 
Lancaster, Ellipse, and Jones' Sounds, Wellington Channel, Kellet, 
(Wrangle Land) Barrow Straits, Franklin Straits, Peel, Sir James 



602 PEOGRESa OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

Ross, and the Fury and Hecla Straits, Regent's Inlet, and the dis- 
covery in 1833, by Sir James Ross, of the North Magnetic Pole." 

Capt Sherard Osborn, in 1865, addressing the Royal 
Geographical Society, London, said : 

" In the year 18 18 Baffin's discoveries on the one hand and those of 
Bering upon the other, with dots for the mouths of the Mackenzie 
and Hearn Rivers, were all we knew of the strange labyrinth of lands 
and waters now accurately delineated upon our charts of the Arctic 
Zone. Sailors and travellers in thirty-six years have accomplished all 
this; not always, be it remembered, in well-stored ships, sailing rapidly 
from point to point, but for the most part by patient toiling on foot, or 
coasting in open boats round every bay and fiord. Sir Leopold Mc- 
Clintock tells the Royal Dublin Society that he estimates the foot ex- 
plorations accomplished in the search for Franklin alone at about forty 
thousand miles. Yet during those thirty-six years of glorious enter- 
prise by ship, by boat, and by sledge. England only fairly lost one 
expedition and one hundred and twenty-eight souls out of forty-two 
successive expeditions, and has never lost a sledge party out of about 
one hundred that have toiled within the Arctic Circle. Show me 
upon the globe an equal amount of geographical discovery, or in 
history of arduous achievement, with a smaller amount of human sac- 
rifice, and then I will concede that Arctic Exploration has entailed 
more than its due amount of suffering." 

Mr. Henry Grinnel, at a meeting of the American Geo- 
graphical Society of New York, enumerated the commer- 
cial results as follows : 

" I. Sir H. Gilbert's discovery of the Cod Fisheries of Newfound- 
land. 2. From Davis' discoveries the great whale fisheries of the 
West. 3. From the discoveries of Hudson (who also discovered and 
sailed into our North River, which now bears his name, while on an 
Arctic voyage,) Hudson's Bay and the operations of the great fur com- 
panies. 4. Sir John Ross ; the whale fishery of the North and North- 
west of Baffin's Bay. 5. Captain Perry; whale fishery of Lancaster 
Sound, Barrow Strait, and Prince Regent Inlet. 6. Admiral Beechy; 
whale fishery of Bering Straits, in which in the space of two years, the 
whaler of Nantucket and New Bedford obtained cargoes from which 
it is said they have realized eight millions of dollars." 

Add to this the trade in fur-seal and seal-otter skins. 
The U. S. revenue from the seal-islands of Alaska in 1873 
was over $307,000, and in 1883 it had increased to over 
$317,000 per annum. Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State, 
was ridiculed when he negotiated with Russia for the pur- 
chase of Alaska by the United States, but that country has 



FEATURES OF THE ANTARCTIC. 603 

proved to be a good investment, and will develop still lar- 
ger resources and commercial importance in the future. 



Antarctic Expeditions. — The "Terra Australis 

Incognita." 

Attempts to penetrate to the South Pole have not been 
numerous, and are comparatively recent in date and unin- 
teresting in details — but the knowledge obtained, especially 
by the American expedition under Capt. Wilkes, is valuable 
in a scientific point of view. — On the maps published 
before 1750, the Antarctic regions are marked "Terra Aus- 
tralis Incognita." Yet Ptolemy, and other ancient geo- 
graphers, supposed that a large continent extended to a 
great distance around the South Pole. — Capt. Cook was 
the first navigator known to have crossed the Antarctic 
Circle. In his second voyage he reached lat. 71*^ 10' S. ; he 
saw no land, and encountered great masses of ice. Capt. 
William Smith, the commander of a merchant vessel driven 
far to the South in trying to round Cape Horn, in 18 19, 
sighted the South Shetland Islands. In the same year 
Bellinghausen, a Russian navigator, reached lat. 70^ S., and 
two years after discovered Alexander's Land and Peter's 
Land. In 182 1, Howell, an Englishman, discovered Trin- 
ity Land in 62^ S., and Palmer, an American, visited a land 
on the same coast westward, and named it Palmer Land. 
In 1823, Capt. Weddell, an English explorer, sailed south 
to lat. 74° 15'S., long. 34° 16' W., and saw an "open sea" 
to the south, but no land. In 183 1, Capt. John Biscoe 
discovered Enderby and Graham's lands, a southwestern 
extension of Palmer's Land. In 1839, a New Zealand seal- 
ing schooner discovered Sabrina Land. In 1837-1838-1839, 
Dumont D'Urville, a French explorer, penetrated to the 
Antarctic Circle, and in 1840 discovered a line of coast 
lying directly south from Victoria (Australia) and named 
it Adelie. This land Capt. Ross, in his third voyage, proved 
to be small islands. In 1839, Lieut. Charles Wilkes was 
sent out by the United States government with four vessels, 
and in Jan. 1840 discovered a coast line which stretched 



604 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

from Ringgolds' Knoll on the east to Enderby Land on the 
west, and was distinguished by the absence of currents to 
disturb the ice barrier, and by a much less precipitous char- 
acter than belongs to islands; hence he inferred that it 
was continuous, and continental. Jan. i6, 1842, Wilkes' 
officers discovered land from the masthead in lat. 6i^S., 
long. i6o^E. and followed it to the westward ; numerous 
islands were seen to the north. Capt. (afterwards Sir 
James) Clarke Ross made three voyages, 1841-1843, in the 
" Erebus " and " Terror," and discovered Victoria Laod, 
having its coast south from lat. 71^ to lat. 78^ 10' — the high- 
est southern latitude ever attained. In lat. 70° 41' S., long. 
172*^ 30' E., he saw mountains 9,000 to 12,000 feet high, of 
volcanic origin ; also an active crater which he named Mt. 
"Erebus," 12,360 feet, in lat. 77° 32' S., long. 167 E., and an 
extinct one, which he called Mt. Terror 10,880 feet high. 
The whole line of coast was steep and rocky and the land 
bare. He located the S. Magnetic Pole in lat. 75*^ 58' S., 
long 154*^ 8' E. His discoveries in natural history, geology 
and magnetism were the most important ever made in that 
region, not excepting those of Lieut. Wilkes. The latter 
are best related in Lieut, (afterwards Admiral) Wilkes' own 
words. He says in his voluminous Narrative of five vol- 
umes : 

" Along the Antarctic Continent for the whole distance explored, 
which is upwards of 1500 miles, no open strait is found. The coast, 
where the ice permitted approach, was found enveloped with a per- 
pendicular barrier, in some cases unbroken, for fifty miles. If there 
was only a chain of islands, the outline of the ice would undoubtedly 
be of another form ; and it is scarcely to be conceived that so long a 
chain could extend so nearly in the same parallel of latitude. The 
land has none of the abruptness of termination that the islands of 
high southern latitudes exhibit; and I am satisfied that it exists in one 
uninterrupted line of coast from Ringgold's Knoll, in the east, to End- 
erby's Land in the west ; that the coast (at long. 95^ E.) trends to the 
north, and this will account for the icy barrier existing, with little alter- 
nation, where it was seen by Cook in 1773. The vast number of ice 
islands conclusively points out that there is some extensive nucleus 
which retains them in their position, for I can see no reason why the 
ice should not be disengaged from islands, if they were such, as hap- 
pens in all other cases in like latitudes. The formation of the coast 
is different from what would probably be found near islands, sound- 
ings being obtained in comparatively shoal water ; and the color of 
the water also indicates that it is not like other southern lands, abrupt 



I 

^1 



FEATURES OF THE ANTxVECTIC. 005 

and precipitous. This cause is sufficient to retain the huge masses of 
ice by their being attached by their lower surfaces instead of their sides 
only. 

" At all the important points of the cruise an observatory was estab- 
lished, and the longitude determined by moon-culminating stars in 
connection with similar observations at Cambridge (Mass,) University, 
by Professor Bond, and at Washington, by Lieutenant Gilliss. The 
latitude was deduced by circummeridian observations of the sun and 
stars; meridian distances were carried throughout the route by chron- 
ometers from and to well established points; every opportunity was 
taken to determine the true positions of islands, reefs, etc., by obser- 
vations made on shore ; the labors in hydrography were extensive ; in 
all the explorations, the constant aim was to obtain useful results; par- 
ticular attention was paid to ascertain whether wood, water, and what 
kind of refreshments (if any) could be had; anchorages were looked 
for and surveyed; and the character of the natives and the kind of 
treatment that may be expected from them. 

"In magnetism observations were made at fifty-seven stations, for 
dip and intensity, and at every point where the ships remained a suf- 
ficient time for diurnal variation; the dip was observed at sea fre- 
quently, and the ship's head always kept north and south whilst the 
observations were making; very many attempts were made to observe 
the intensity at sea, both by horizontal and vertical vibrations, but 
Wilkes was never able to satisfy himself with the results, whatever 
others may have done. 

"For the determination of the Southern Magnetic Pole, he had var- 
iation observations from 35° easterly variation to 59*^ west, between 
the longitudes of 97 ^ and 165 ^ east, nearly on the same parallel of 
latitude; which will give numerous convergent lines through that space 
for its determination; the greatest dip was 87*^30.' The summit of 
Monna Loa, thirteen thousand four hundred feet above the level of 
the sea, was among the magnetic stations; the jiendulums were swung 
at six stations, one of these at the summit of Monna Loa and another 
at its foot; full meteorological journals were kept during the whole 
cruise— the hours of observation, 3 and 9 P. M., and 3 and 9 A. M. ; 
the temperature at the masthead taken at the same hours ; that of the 
air and water every hour during the cruise, at sea and in port; when 
in port thermometers were sunk, and the temperature of springs, wells 
and caves taken for the mean temperature of the climate. 

" In botany about ten thousand species were obtained, and from 
three to five specimens of each, all brought or sent home in a dried 
state. About one hundred specimens of living plants were brought 
home incases; among them several East India fruits and other plants 
from that region, supposed to be rarely found in European conser- 
vatories. 

" In the Geological and Mineralogical Departments under Mr. Dana, 
much industry and research were expended; about eleven hundred 
species of cru.stacea were figured; among them many new forms illus- 
trative of general anatomy and physiology. In a word, extensive 
collections of specimens were made in all the Departments of Natural 
History." 



606 TROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

The late Prof. Henry of the Smithsonian Institute, Wash- 
ington, in his report for 1867, said : " The collections made 
by the Naval Expedition (of Capt. Wilkes) 1838-1842, 
are supposed greatly to exceed those of any other similar 
character fitted out by any government. They embrace 
full series of the animals, plants, minerals, and ethnological 
material of the regions visited. Implements of stone and 
of bone are almost everywhere found, the workmanship 
of races that have lo?ig since disappeared, and of which the 
use would be difficult of determination, were not similar 
implements, as to form and material, found in actual use 
at the present day among savages, particularly those inhab- 
iting the various islands of the Pacific Ocean." 

The Royal Geographical Society, London, presented a 
gold medal to Lieut. Wilkes, through the U. S. Minister, 
Mr. Bancroft, May 22, 1848. 



Features of the Antarctic Ocean. 

Lieut. Maury, in his Physical Geography of the Sea 
1861, says that "the area of the Antarctic Circle is 8,155, 
600 square miles, and equal in extent to one-sixth of the 
land surface of the globe. — This untravelled region is cir- 
cular in shape, the circumference of which does not meas- 
ure less than 7,000 miles. Its edges have been penetrated 
here and there, and land, wherever seen, has been high 
and rugged. The unexplored area there is quite equal to 
that of our entire frigid zone. Navigators on the voyage 
from the Cape of Good Hope to Melbourne, and from 
Melbourne to Cape Horn, scarcely ever venture, except 
while passing Cape Horn, to go on the Polar side of 55^S. 
The fear of icebergs deters them. These may be seen 
there drifting up toward the equator in large numbers and 
large masses all the ytar round. I have encountered them 
myself as high up as the parallel of 37*^8. Lieut. Wilkes 
supposes that these ice-islands are propelled by under- 
currents which, at times, exist to and from the Poles— that 
they are carried away in the seasons when the Polar streams 
are the strongest, and are borne along by them at the ve- 



SIGNAL STATIONS IN THE ARCTIC. 607 

locity with which they move. He saw no " pack ice" — that 
is, pieces forced one upon the other by the action of the 
sea or currents." 

The icebergs in the Antarctic are much larger and of a 
deeper blue than those in the Arctic Ocean ; and " the 
coloring of the crevasses, caves, and hollows is of the deep- 
est blue, a more powerful color than that seen on the ice of 
the Swiss glaciers. In the case of bergs with all their sides 
exposed, no doubt a greater amount of light is able to pen- 
etrate than in glaciers where the light usually enters only 
at the top." 



Lieutenant A. W. Greely, U. S. A., at Lady Frank- 
lin Bay Grinnell Land. N. lat. 81*=* 41' W., long. 
64 ^ 30', June, 188 i, a station assigned to the Unit- 
ed States by the International Polar Commission 
FOR Meteorological Observations. — United States 
Station near Point Barrow, Alaska, N. 71*^ 18' 
LAT., LONG. W. 156 ^^ 24.' — Relief expeditions. — Res- 
cue OF THE survivors OF THE GrEELY PARTY. 

The chief of the U. S. Signal Service in his report for 
1881, says : " Owing to the very mobile nature of the at- 
mosphere, the changes taking place on our portion of the 
globe, especially in the Arctic Zone, quickly affect regions 
very distant therefrom. The study of the weather in Eu- 
rope and America cannot be successfully prosecuted with- 
out a daily map of the whole northern hemisphere, and the 
great blank space of the Arctic region upon our simulta- 
neous international chart has long been a subject of regret 
to meteorologists. The general object (of establishing 
stations as recommended by the Official International Po- 
lar Commission, for the Arctic regions,) is to accomplish, by 
observations made in concert at numerous stations, such 
additions to our knowledge as cannot be acquired by iso- 
lated or desultory travelling parties. No special attempt 
will be made at geological exploration, and neither exped- 
dition (Lieut. Greely's at Lady Franklin Bay, and Lieut. 
P. H. Ray's near Point Barrow, Alaska,) is in any sense 
an attempt to reach the North Pole. The single object is to 



608 ROGIIESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

elucidate the phenomena of the weather and the magnetic 
needle, as they occur in America and Europe, by means of 
observations taken in the region where the most remark- 
able disturbances seem to have their origin." 

The idea of these meteorological observatories in the 
frozen seas originated in Germany about the year 1876, 
and was put forth with the declaration that further Polar 
Explorations should be discouraged except for purely scien- 
tific purposes. With these ends in view the stations named 
above were established under an act of Congress, in 1881 ; 
and similar stations were established, both in the Arctic 
and Antarctic, by England and Canada, Germany, Russia, 
Austria, France, Holland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, 
and Denmark. " If we add to all these stations those al- 
ready existing in Russia, Siberia, Alaska, the English prov- 
inces of the North, etc.," says the Bulletin of the Soci^te 
de Geographie^ " it will be seen that around the whole Polar 
Circle will be a zone of observatories, whose observations 
will form the study of the globe to the eightieth degree of 
north latitude 

The larger number of the civilized nations are striving 
by scientific means to wrest the mysterious secrets of the 
deep from their hidden recesses of the North." 

Lieut. A. W. Greely's party was composed of Lieuts. 
F. H. Kislingbury and James B. Lockwood, Dr. Octave 
Pavy, acting assistant surgeon and naturalist, and 18 
sergeants, corporals and privates of the U. S. army. They 
sailed in the U. S. steamer " Proteus," and reached 
Godhavn July i6th, 1881. July 24th, the steamer entered 
the harbor of Upernavik. Jans Edward, a native, and 
Frederic Sharley Christiansen, a half-breed, were here 
engaged. The vessel left Upernavik, July 29th, sailed 
northward into the "Middle Passage," and July 31st, 
arrived, in a dense fog, which soon lifted, six miles south 
of Cape York, in 36 hours from Upernavik, the quickest 
passage ever made. No ice-i)ack was encountered in 
Baffin Bay. Two parties were landed at the Carey islands, 
where the record left by Capt. Allen Young in i875-'76, 
was obtained, and the depot of provisions left by Sir 
George Nares in 1875 were found in good condition. Aug 
2nd, at Littleton Island, the English mails were found 



GREELY RELIEF EXPEDITION. 609 

after seven hours search, and were sent back to be re- 
turned to England. The " Polaris " winter quarters were 
visited, and the transit instrument found. Aug. 3rd, Cape 
Sabine was passed, Washington land sighted, and the 80th 
parallel crossed. Aug. 4th, Franklin Sound was passed. 
At Carl Ritter Bay, 225 bread and meat rations were 
cached for use in case of a retreat south in 1883. At 9 
P. M. the vessel was stopped by ice, in the extreme south- 
east part of Lady Franklin Bay, only eight miles from 
destination. Aug. 5th Greely land at Cape Lieber. Aug. 
6th the pack moved, and by Aug. loth the ship had been 
forced southward by the ice about 45 miles. Then a 
southwest gale set in and started the pack northward. 
The ship ran north again in the open water, and entered 
Discovery Harbor, where Greely decided to winter ; on 
the 12th the " Proteus" broke her way through two miles 
of heavy ice, being her seventh day's battle with the gales 
and frozen sea, and anchored Aug. 14th, one hundred 
yards from shore. The cargo was discharged in 60 hours. 
140 tons of coal were landed from the ship. A house was 
built, 14 musk oxen killed, and rations of dried birds pro- 
cured, enough meat for seven months. Lieut. Greely 
expected that additional supplies would be sent to him in 
1882, and if not so visited, his instructions were " to 
abandon his station not later than Sept. i, 1883, and to 
retreat southward by boat, following closely the east coast 
of Grifinel Lafid, until the relieving vessel is met or Little- 
ton Island is reached." 



Expeditions to carry Assistance to Greely in 1882 

AND 1883. 

Leaving Lieut. Greely and his party in their ice-bound 
home, with an indefinite hope of succor from the outside 
world, but with every appliance for the observation of 
Nature, and of the laws which impel the storms and cur- 
rents that originate in the Arctic Circle, we turn now to the 
steps that were taken in the United States, in pursuance 



610 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

of expectations justly entertained by the imprisoned men, 
to send them relief in the years 1882 and 1883. 

June 27th, 1882, Congress appropriated $133,000 for 
the above purpose, and on July 8th, Mr. Wm. M. Beebe 
was sent with men and supplies in the " Neptune," Capt. 
Sopp. The ship encountered solid ice-packs, which Mr. 
Beebe says, was the " heavy winter ice, which, borne from 
the eastern coast of Greenland by the strong current 
which sets southward from about Iceland, turns to the 
westward and northward around Cape Farewell, and flows 
up the western coast of Greenland until, in about lat. 67*^ 
N. it meets and mingles with the current from Baffin's 
Bay. These united currents set southward with great 
strength down the coast of Labrador, and trending east- 
ward, pass around and down the eastern coast of New- 
foundland and into the Gulf Stream, carrying with them 
the immense icebergs launched from the numerous glaciers 
of West Greenland, and so much of the ice-fields as had 
survived the passage from Davis Strait." July 17th, the 
** Neptune " reached Godhavn. On the 28th she passed 
Littleton Island, where her progress northward was 
blocked by unbroken ice, as thick as 20 feet. She turned 
to the south, and anchored in Pandora Harbor, where she 
found a record of Sir Allen Young's visit in the " Pandora," 
in 1875, and also plenty of hares, eider-ducks, auks and 
gulls, which the crew killed and ate greedily. The north- 
west gales which dispersed the ice, enabled the " Neptune " 
Aug. 7th, to turn back to the north, and to make Payer 
Harbor on the i8th, in lat. 78^ 42' N., long. 74® 21'. At 
Brevoort and an .adjoining island, were found the records 
and cache of Capts. Nares and St€phenson. Further prog- 
ress northward was checked, and the ship anchored off 
Littleton Island Aug. 28th. A party landed, and left a 
cache of provisions there and also at Cape Sabine. As it 
appeared impossible to reach Greely's station at Lady 
Franklin Bay, the ship returned to Godhavn Sept. 8th, 
and thence to St. Johns, Newfoundland. All relief for 
Greely, all expectation of receiving news from his party, 
was postponed to 1883. — Thus the "Proteus," in 1881, 
found almost open water and few dangerous ice-fields as 
far north as 81^ 44'; the "Neptune" was blockaded about 



GREELY BELIEF EXPEDITIONS. 611 

200 miles farther south, and was fain to return after a six 
weeks* cruise among the ice-floes, — so variable and uncertain 
are the winters in the ice zones, as all Arclic navigators 
have found. If a sledge could have been driven over the 
ice to Lady Franklin Bay, it might have saved Greely's 
beleaguered party from great disasters. 

On the 29th of June, 1883, Lieut. E. A. Garlington, with 
U. S. Steamer " Yantic," Commander Wildes, and the 
steamship " Proteus," Capt. Pike, sailed from St. John's 
with supplies for Greely. The ships made Godhavn July 
i2th. Lieut. Garlington and Lieut. J. C. Colwell, a volun- 
teer from U. S. N., left that harbor in the " Protens " July 
i6th, and on the lyth encountered icebergs at Hare 
Island. On the 20th they were stopped by a solid pack, 
in long. 61° 30*. Turning souili, the ship sighted Cape 
York and landed a party at southeast Carey Island, and 
found a record left there by Greely's party Aug. i. 1881, 
as follows : — 

"International Polar Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, fitted out 
by the War Department under the supervision of Gen. W. B. Hazen, 
Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A., and commanded by First Lieutenant A. 
W. Greely Fifth Cavalry, U. S. A., and Assistant Lieutenant in the 
Steamship ' Proteus* island of Upernavik 7 P. M. July 29, 1881, and 
at 7 A. M., July 31, stopped by a heavy fog about six miles south of 
land supposed to be Cape York. Middle passage taken and found to 
be entirely unobstructed by ice. All well. This notice deposited Aug. 
I. 1881. 

J. B. LOCKWOOD. 

Lieut. 23d Inf. U. S. Army, Third officer. 

"One keg of biscuits opened and found mouldy. One can of beef 
opened and found good. Stores generally found apparently in same 
condition as when deposited here in 1875 [by British Expedition under 

(Signed) "J. B. Lockwood, Lieut. U. S. A." 

Lieut. Garlington examined with his glass the leads in 
the ice, and says, the pack had broken and open lanes of 
water had formed, leading across Buchanan Strait along 
Bache Island and across Princess Marie Bay. At 8 P. M. 
the " Proteus " rounded Cape Sabine, and proceeded 
through the open leads in the broken ice to within four 
miles of Cape Albert, where the ship was stopped about 



612 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

600 yards from the open water, and Capt. Pike's efforts 
to force a passage by ramming entirely failed." On July 
22d, the '* Proteus " turned south and endeavored to get 
out of the pack,^ but found all movement effectually 
blocked. Ice seven feet thick was piled upon the floe 
amidships and astern, and crushed against the ship's sides 
and into her bunker — the starboard rail was smashed, the 
deck planks rose, the seams opened, and at 7.15 P. M. 
the ship sank " on an even keel." One of the boats and 
some of the stores were saved by the officers (while the 
crew plundered the boxes) before this catastrophe oc- 
curred ; a cache was made by Lieut. Colwell at Cape 
Sabine for Lieut. Greely's party, and he then headed across 
Melville Bay, in his boat, to reach the " Yantic," while the 
rest of the party coasted around the Bay to the same 
destination. Sept. 2nd, the latter party boarded the 
" Yantic " at Upernavik, and and Lieut. Colwell joined 
her soon afterwards at Godhavn. The whole party re- 
turned to St. John's Sept. 13th, 1883. Thus Lieut. Greely 
and his companions, exiled for three winters in the inter- 
ests of science, were perforce left to their fate until the 
summer of 1884. 

Point Barrow, Alaska. — We have previously referred 
to the station established near this point, in the interest 
of the U. S. Signal Service. It was put in charge of First 
Lieut. P. H. Ray, 8th Infantry U. S. A., who sailed from 
San Francisco in the steamer " Golden Fleece," July 18th, 
188 1, accompanied by Acting-Assistant Surgeon G. S. 
Oldmixon, three sergeants and eight subordinates. Sept. 
15th, he reported to General W. B. Hazen, Chief Signal 
officer, U. S. A., substantially as follows : — " The expedition 
arrived at Ooglamie [name of an Indian village], Alaska, 
Sept. 8th, and found a suitable place for the station on 
the northeast side of a small inlet which I have named 
Golden Fleece, about eight miles from the extreme 
northern point of Point Barrow ; all the intermediate 
country is interspersed with small lakes and lagoons; the 
only high ground is occupied by an Indian village at 
Point Barrow. The voyage was a long one ; a heavy gale 
off Cape Lisburne drove us out of our course to the north 
and west. The ground is now covered with snow : ice is 



THE SEASONS AT POINT BARROW. 613 

forming rapidly on the inlet and lakes ; the cargo was 
landed with extreme difficulty on the beach, through a 
heavy surf which half filled our boats, the spray freezing 
where it struck ; the vessel liable to be driven out to sea 
at any hour. There will still be more or less suffering 
before I can get quarters up . . . On the 12th, a small 
wharf was built, the wind and sea abated ; and on the 13th 
and 14th the balance of the cargo was safely landed — the 
natives assisting with their oomiaks. I cannot detain the 
vessel for fear she may be frozen in before passing Bering 
Strait ... If I procure specimens of native arms, boats, 
implements, etc., I will have to purchase them in trade. 
I have not a sufficient supply for that purpose, having 
only taken enough to purchase fresh meat and to hire 
boats and labor in landings .... The (relief) vessel 
next year should sail at an earlier date than the expedi- 
tion this year ; have not seen the sun since I have been 
here. The latitude, by dead reckoning from my own 
log-book, is 71° 17' 50'' N., long. 156^ 23' 45" W." 

June 24th, 1882, Lieut. J. S. Powell, U. S. A., sailed 
from San Francisco in the schooner " Leo " with supplies 
for Lieut. Ray. In Bering Sea, the ship met a heavy gale, 
from the north, and lay for several days in a fog without 
sight of land or sun, about four miles from Plover Bay. 
In the 14th in a heavy gale. Cape Lisburne was sighted ; 
on the i8th the ship was becalmed in lat. 71° 21' N., long. 
i^S^ 50' W. ; on the 19th, a strong northeast current had 
carried the ship to the northeast of Point Barrow, but she 
landed at the station Aug. 20th. Lieut. Ray said that 
had it become calm, the " Leo " might have drifted to the 
northeast, for vessels caught in the northeast current move 
off with it, " and not a piece of timber ever returns." 
Lieut. Powell says (U. S. Signal Service Notes, No. X.) : — 



"The prospect from the Station even in summer, when it is at its 
best, is monotonous, uninviting, and in winter it must be dreary in- 
deed. The tundra spreads away level and brown, relieved here and 
there by patches of sickly green, guttered in all directions by shallow 
water-courses, and covered with small shallow pools, while at no point 
within view does it reach an elevation of fifty feet above the level of 
the sea. Vegetation is very scanty, consisting chiefly of moss and 
lichens and other cryptogamous growths, with occasional patches of 




614 PROGEESS OJ* ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

hard, wiry grass, and a few simple flowers. The only shrub to be 
found is the dwarf willow, which, instead of growing in an erect pos- 
ition, creeps along under the moss as if trying to hide from the in- 
clement blasts, and in summer it shoots forth its pretty rose-colored 
catskins and green leaves through its mossy covering in a timid and 
hesitating manner, as if aware of the uncongenial character of its sur- 
roundings. 

"During eight months of the year the earth is frozen, and during 
the remaining four it thaws to the depth of a foot from the surface, 
but below that depth it is permanently frozen to an unknown depth, 
probably one hundred and fifty feet to two hundred feet. It is a des- 
olate land, interesting no doubt, but destitute of beauty, one in which 
the struggle for existence, both by animal and vegetable life, is of the 
hardest, where the aspects of nature are harsh withou grandeur and 
desolate without being picturesque. 

"The year is divided into seasons, — a winter eight months long and 
a rather uncertain summer of four months. The latter season, if sum- 
mer it can be called, is only such by contrast with the preceding winter, 
for the temperature rarely reaches 60°, and at any time a snow-storm 
may occur. Snow fell on every day we were at the station. The low- 
est temperature was 60'' below-zero, there was but one day only on 
which the sun shone sufficiently to make observations. The sea at 
Point Barrow does not freeze to a greater depth than six or seven feet; 
the ice with which it is filled comes from a distance, and is generally 
a mixture of new and old worn ice. There is nothing in this sea ap- 
proaching an iceberg, but still some very respectable masses are formed, 
especially near the coast, where the pressure of the moving floes from 
without is met by the resistance of the land, and huge fields of ice are 
driven over each other until they become grounded in water from fifteen 
to twenty fathoms deep and are piled up some forty or fifty feet. No 
doubt the grandeur and sublimity given to Arctic scenery by the im- 
mensity of icebergs are here wanting, but the immensity of power dis- 
played by these enormous ice masses is more calculated to impress the 
mind than the mere bulk of lofty bergs that stud the sea on the eastern 
side of the continent. The broken floes are thrown together in every 
conceivable position, and at every possible inclination of surface, in 
a profusion of irregularity, of which no language can convey an ade- 
quate idea. Travelling over such a surface is next to impossible, men 
without encumbrances could possibly advance eight or ten miles in a 
day, but if laden with food or otherwise, their progress would be far- 
less than this — heavy ice-sleds would be almost impossible. "Wher- 
ever there is land there is always an ice-foot, a narrow strip of level 
ice along the coast, over which sled-travel can be easily carried on, or 
in narrow channels without currents, where the ice may be compar- 
atively smooth, but in the open sea, at a distance from land, nothing 
but failure will attend such attempts. The fringe of grounded ice along 
the Point Barrow coast follows an irregular line, more or less distant 
from the shore, depending on the depth of the water, and varies from 
three to five miles in width. 

*' Beyond the grounded line, the surface of the hummocks and floes 
is just as rough and uneven as it is everywhere else. Although to the 




THE "AURORA BOREALIS." 



it 



^It 



I 



THE SEASONS AT POINT BARROW. 615 

eye the broad expanse of jumbled ice-hummocks seems as stable as 
the solid land, the stability is only apparent ; a kind of vibratory motion 
takes place from time to time; the pressure increases and decreases 
alternately; currents set in, and the whole body of the ice seems to 
oscillate to and fro, so that it is seldom that the peculiar noises oc- 
casioned by the grinding and crushing together of the slowly moving 
masses cannot be heard. This song of the icy sea is a very peculiar 
one, and can scarcely be described so as to convey any clear idea of 
its nature. It is not loud, yet it can be heard to a great distance; it 
is neither a surge nor a swash, but a kind of slow, crashing, groaning, 
shrieking sound, in which sharp, silvery tlnklings mingle with the low 
thunderous undertone of a rushing tempest. It impresses one with 
the idea of nearness and distance at the same time, and also that of 
immense forces in conflict. When this confused fantasia is heard from 
afar, through the stillness of this Arctic zone, the effect is strangely 
weird and solemn — as if it were the distant hum of an active, living 
world breaking across the boundaries of silence, solitude and death." 
" Individual auroras often lasted tenor twelve hours or more, but the 
great bursts of splendor and motion seldom lasted more than thirty 
minutes, and often did not continue even so long; but while they lasted 
they were magnificent, indeed. On such occasions the sky became a 
gorgeous canopy of flames, all splendor, color and motion; arch, col- 
umn, and banner flashed and faded; silvery rays, with rosy bases and 
fringed with gold or emerald green, danced and whirled around the 
zenith, and broad curtains of light flung across the sky in every form 
of gracetul curve and convolution, shook rainbow tints from every 
fold, until the beholder became bewildered and lost in the dazzling 
brilliancy. 

" In lower latitudes, the aurora is mostly seen as a luminous arch 
extending across the northern sky. At Point Barrow, the arched form, 
though common, was not the prevalent one, and the arches that ap . 
peared were seldom perfect, or if so, only for a few moments at a time, 
and the changes of form were so incessant that it was hard to decide 
which was the prevailing type. The curtain form, mostly broken, but 
always convoluted and folded on itself like an immense scroll, was a 
common form, but whatever the form, the phenomena passed over the 
sky in a succession of waves, sometimes from north to south and vice 
versa Intimately connected with the aurora was the disturbance of 
the magnetic needle — in fact, during the prevalence of the aurora, the 
magnets were in a state of chronic perturbation, especially during the 
great displays, when they were often so disturbed that some of then^ 
could not be read. 

" Having turned over all supplies to Lieut. Ray, Sunday, August 
27, preparations were made to leave this dreary region — a region which 
seems to be one in which the bright sunshine of hope enters with a 
light so subdued that it is but the gleam from a far distant planet pen- 
etrating the cavern of ceaseless solitude and woe. 

•' Anchor was weighed at 2 P. M., Sunday, and our homeward voy- 
age begun in a snow-storm. We passed Point Belcher, August 28th, 
reached East Cape, Asia, Saturday, September 20, and lay there Sun- 
day and Monday. We sailed from East Cape to St. Lawrence Bay, 
and anchored inside the harbor at 3 P. M. next day. This bay is full 



616 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

of historic reminiscences connected with the burning of the U. S, 
Steamer ' Rodgers ' of the Jeannette Relief Expedition. The natives 
came on board clothed in some of the apparel left them by the officers. 
and crew of this ill-fated vessel. Several had recommendations from 
the "Rodgers" party, and in compliance with requests made therein, 
each one was supplied with tobacco, bread and molasses. One of the 
natives described to me the accident which befel Master Putnam of 
the Navy, and stated that some time after the ice-floe, bearing Putnam, 
drifted out to sea, a south easterly wind brought the floe back to shore, 
and he saw the remains of Putnam on it, his face and hands much dis- 
colored and the body swollen. 

*' On the 28th of September, in Bering Sea, the barometer com- 
menced falling rapidly, and a fierce gale sprang up from the East, which 
soon blew with so much violence that we were obliged to take in all 
our canvas and heave to under a double-reefed mainsail and foresail. 
On the next day it increased in fury, and for the next day, and the next, 
and for full five, we were tossed to and fro, at the mercy of such a 
storm as I hope I shall never again experience. By the time the storm 
was over, the entire party were worn out, and the patience exhibited 
under such circumstances certainly became a virtue. We passed 
through Unimak Pass on the 5th of October. Our voyage from 
thence across the Pacific to San Francisco was, on the whole, favor- 
able, and we reached the latter place October 2." 

Lieutenant Ray's party were recalled by act of Congress 
1882-1883, and arrived at Washington, October 1883. Thus 
ended for the present, by command of the Nation — appalled 
at the hardships imposed on its brave sailors without com- 
pensating advantages — our permanent stations in the Arc- 
tic Seas for meteorological observations, and researches in 
natural history and ethnology. The territory of the United 
States (even in Alaska) is sufficiently extensive to locate 
observatories and Signal Stations at points in the country 
where the observers are not isolated from mankind, or in 
danger of starvation and pitiless cold. The exploration of 
frigid and inclement regions can safely be left to the ad- 
venturous spirit of individuals, at least until we forget the 
terrible sufferings of De Long's train of stiffened corpses 
and Greely's dead and mutilated comrades. 



LIFE AT FORT CONGEE. 617 



Lieutenant Greely and his Men. 

Life at Fort Conger, Discovery Bay, 1881, 1882, 1883 — 
Departure of the "Proteus" August 18, 1881 — Three 
years' observations, researches and explorations towards 
the Pole. — Non-Arrival of Succor, and retreat southwards 
in August, 1883 — Arrival at Cape Sabine October 31, 
1883— Removal to Camp Clay Nov. i— Suffering, Star- 
vation, Death — Rescue by the Bear and Thetis^ June 22, 
1884 — Arrival at St. John's, Newfoundland, July 17, 1884. 

We left Lieut. Greely and his little colony at Discovery 
Bay in August, 1881, busily preparing their camp on the 
shore. The house which they built measured 61+20 feet, 
and was made as secure as possible against the violent 
winds and colds of the Arctic winter. The station was 
named Fort Conger, after Senator Conger of Michigan, who 
secured the passage of the act of Congress under which 
the expedition was organized. August i8th, 1881, the 
*' Proteus," having landed her supplies, sailed for the Un- 
ited States; and from that date until July 17, 1884, when 
th,e six survivors and 18 shrunken bodies enclosed in iron 
coffins, were landed at St. Johns by the Relief ships under 
Commanders W. S. Schley, George W. Coffin, and 
Lieut. Wm. H. Emory, of the Bear^ Thetis and Loch Garry 
nothing whatever had been heard from Lieut Greely and 
his men ; they were silent to all the world for nearly three 
years — prisoners in the frozen North — but not unmindful 
of the arduous duties which they had been deputed by their 
countrymen to perform. The expeditions of 1882 and 1883 
had failed to reach their ice-beleaguered home — yet, but for 
the provisions cached at Cape Sabine by Beebe, in 1882, 
and by Lieuts. Garlington and Colwell in 1883, together 
with those deposited at Payer Harbor and Cape Isabella 
by Sir George Nares in 1875 — nothing but the bones and 
relics of any of Greely's party would ever have been re- 
covered. If the 250 rations left by the " Neptune " in 
1882, at Littleton Island, across the open water from Cape 
Sabine, could have been reached by Greely's men in the 



618 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

winter of 1883, 1884 — all might have been saved ; but, un- 
fortunately, the violent gales which prevailed all winter, 
and the loss of their boats, prevented their crossing Smith 
Sound to get these provisions. 

The exploring party consisted of twenty-five men, in- 
cluding Lieut. A. W. Greely, of the Fifth U. S. Cavalry ; 
Lieut. Frederick F. Kislinbury, of the Eleventh Infantry; 
Lieut. James B. Lockwood, of the Twenty-third Infantry ; 
Acting Assistant Surgeon Octave Pavy, M. D., nineteen 
non-commissioned officers, and privates, and the two 
Esquimaux who were taken aboard at Upernavik. The 
arranojements for the comfort and securitv of the men left 
nothing to be desired, and Lieutenant Greely's manage- 
ment was in the highest degree judicious. There was no 
sickness in the party. The men were kept in good health 
and spirits by active employment, and such amusements 
as were possible under the circumstances. Lieutenant 
Greely and Dr. Pavy occasionally gave the men lectures 
on various subjects, and each man was allowed to celebrate 
his birthday by choosing the dinner, of which all partook. 
No jealousies or dissensions marred the harmony of the 
little band. The discipline was of necessity rigid, but kind. 
A sense of fraternity and common dependence ruled the 
spirits of all. Even the failure to receive supplies and 
news from home does not appear to have made the men 
despondent. 

From August 188 1 to August 1883, when, failing to re- 
ceive supplies, Lieut. Greely abandoned Fort Conger and 
retreated south to Cape Sabine, the members of the party 
were actively engaged in explorations and researches. 
During the long arctic night, utterly without sunlight for 
135 days, they lived in a house within a house. They 
breakfasted at eight, lunched lightly at 11 A. M. and 9 
P. M., and dined at 4 P. M. Observations were taken daily 
in meteorology, astronomy, magnetism, sea temperatures, 
ice thicknesses, tidal motion, and velocity of sound at dif- 
ferent temperatures. Military discipline, one hour's exer- 
cise per day, and a weekly bath were required of all. The 
living apartments were kept clean. National holidays 
were observed with an extra dinner, and an interchange of 
presents on Christmas. Thus th§ dread disease of scurvy, 



INCEEASING EIGOR OF CLIMATE. 619 

which wore out two ships' crews for Nares, was prevented, 
and a fairly contented life enjoyed. 

Arctic research has advanced about three hundred miles 
northward since Baffin immortalized himself in the year 
1616. Parry, in 18Z7 reached latitude 79^ ; Kane, 80^ 
30' in 1854; Hayes, 81*' 30' in 1861; Hall, 82^ 16' in 
187 1 ; and Nares, 83** 20' in 1876. Lieutenant Lockwood 
stopped at latitude 83*^ 24,' but saw and computed 83*^ 35', 
which most northern land now known, he called Cape 
Robert Lincoln. The journey to and from this point oc- 
cupied fifty-nine days. At a temperature of minus sixty- 
one degrees, hares, lemmings, ptarmigan, snow-birds, snowy 
owls, polar bears, musk-oxen, and even vegetation, exist 
and thrive. Grinnell Land was quite thoroughly explored. 
Nordenskiold discovered that, late in the summer, great 
rivers, formed of melted ice, with icy beds and banks, make 
travel in the north impossible without small boats. Lake 
Hazen, fed by streams from the ice-cap of northern Grin- 
nell Land, and emptying into Weyprecht Fiord, was dis- 
covered in April, some miles inland from Archer Fiord, 
when some open water was seen. Doubtless, in August, a 
much larger sized lake, fed by innumerable large and swift 
flowing rivers, would have been found. This lake, named 
after General Hazen, is the most northern fresh-water body- 
on the globe, one-fourth in size of Lake Erie, and well 
stocked with fish. Lying contiguously to it, and parallel 
with the United States Mountains, were two ranges named 
after Senator Conger and President Garfield. The 
highest land in the latter range, and indeed of all the coun- 
try north of Disco Bay, was named Arthur Peak. It is 
5000 feet in height. 

On the shores of Lake Hazen the remains of an Esqui- 
mau village were found, apparently the most northern hab- 
itation attempted by the Esquimaux. Here were evidences 
of possession by this people of dogs, sledges and iron. It 
would argue that at no distant period there was a beautiful 
valley about the lake with an abundance of vegetation and 
game. That the rigors of the most northern climate are 
slowly advancing south is evident in the gradual retreat of 
the Esquimaux. From this high latitude they have been 
forced several degrees, and that for no lack of game. Add 



620 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

to this the migration of Icelanders to Manitoba, after be- 
coming hereditarily inured to the climate through an ances- 
try dating back a thousand years. It is relevant to note 
that in 1824 Scandinavian seal-men found an open winter, 
the snow melting as it fell. Kane, in the winter of 185 1, 
recorded an average temperature of about minus 5^. The 
Polaris expedition during the winter of 1872-3 experienced 
a temperature of minus 40^. Dr. Hall said that the mer- 
cury froze. Lieutenant Greely, ten years later, recorded 
a mean thermometer of minus 41^ with a maximum of 
minus 623° — the lowest degree of any duration yet noted. 

Among the many interesting discoveries of the party were 
some enormous glaciers. Many were found by Lieutenant 
Greely in the vicinity of Lake Hazen, the largest of which 
was named Henrietta Nesmith. This is the third promi- 
nent feature of the Arctics named after women. The 
others are Lady Franklin Bay, and Victoria and Albert 
Mountains. The largest glacier discovered, and perhaps 
in existence, was found beyond Lake Hazen, in Grinnell 
Land, toward the Polar ocean, and was named after Agas- 
siz. It resembles the great wall of China, and was at first 
so christened. It formed the southern ice-cap of Grinnell 
Land, and is separated from the northern ice cap by sixty 
miles. Looking out on the Polar sea, not far from this 
glacier, Lieutenant Lockwood saw the northern termination 
of Grinnell Land, which he named after Sergeant Brain- 
ARD, who followed him persistently and faithfully during 
the long arctic night. To the south the southern termi- 
nation was seen, and called Cape Lockwood. Beyond was 
open water, and across that a new country, which was 
named after President Arthur. Grinnell Land, so thor- 
oughly explored by the Greely party, may be called the 
land of glaciers. The Agassiz Glacier is now the most 
northern, and those of the Grand Tetons, in Wyoming, the 
most southern, known to North America. 

Geographically, though few changes in Polar maps were 
found necessary, the discoveries are not without interest. 
Cape Britannia — the furthest northern point on the Green- 
land coast seen by Beaumont, is not, as the English ex- 
plorer supposed, the northern, but the southwestern end of 
an islanci, Lieut. Lockwood went some distance beyond 



I 




We are sinking gradually y — Page 



THE " FARTHEST KORTH. ' 621 

the island which bears his name, but could not get ac- 
curate observations on account of the shadows of the cliffs; 
hence he made his official "farthest North," at Lockwood 
Island, and unfurled the American flag four miles nearer 
the Pole than Nares had planted the British ensign ; and 
beyond this point, the northern coast of Greenland was 
surveyed for several miles and depicted on his map. The 
Esquimau relics collected at Fort Conger were the most 
complete ever found, but had to be boxed up and left there. 
The moss which the Greely party boiled with their seal- 
skin boots at Cape Sabine is almost exactly like the gray 
moss which grows on the New England rocks, and has 
little or no nutriment in it. Near the grave of Lieut. Lock- 
wood there was growing when the relief party arrived, some 
beautiful flowering moss, and a clump of it, with its purple 
flowers, was brought home by one of the officers, to the 
family of the dead explorer, together with the flag that he 
unfurled at his " farthest North." 

Lieutenant Greely, in a dispatch from St. John's, Aug. 
17, 1884 — thus summarizes the results of his explorations : 

" For the first time in three centuries England yields the honor of 
the furthest north. Lieutenant Lockwood and Sergeant Brainard, 
May 13, reached Lockwood Island, latitude 83'^ 24' north, longitude 
44" 5' west. They saw from 2000 feet elevation no land north or 
northwest, but to northeast Greenland, Cape Robert Lincoln, latitude 
83" 35' longitude 38". Lieutenant LocKWOOD was turned back in 
1883 by open water on North Greenland shore, party barely escaping 
drift in Polar Ocean. Dr. Parry, in 1882, following Markham's 
route, was adrift one day in Polar Ocean north of Cape Joseph Henry, 
and escaped to land, abandoning nearly everything. 

" In 1882 I made a spring and later summer trip into the interior of 
Grinnell Land, discovering Lake Hazen, some sixty by ten miles in 
extent, which, fed by ice caps of North Grinnell Land, drains Ruggles 
River and Weyprecht Fiord into Conybeare Bay and Archer Fiord. 
From the summit of Mount Arthur, 5000 feet, the contour of land 
west of the Conger Mountains convinced me that Grinnell Land trav- 
els directly south from Lieutenant Aldrich's furthest in 1876. 

" In 1883 Lieutenant Lockwood and Sergeant Brainard suc- 
ceeded in crossing Grinnell Land, and ninety miles from Beatrix Bay, 
the head of Archer Fiord, struck the head of a fiord from the western 
sea, temporarily named by Lockwood the Greely Fiord. From the 
centre of the fiord, in latitude 80^' 30' longitude 78" 30^ Lieutenant 
Lockwood saw the northern shore termination, some twenty miles 
west, the southern shore extending some fifty miles, with Cape Lock- 
wood some seventy miles distant — apparently a separate land from 



622 



PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 



1, 



Grinnell Land. Have named the new land Arthur Land. Lieuten- 
ant LocKwooD followed, going and returning, on ice cape averaging 
about one hundred and fifty feet perpendicular face. It follows that 
the Grinnell Land interior is ice-capped, with a belt of country some 
sixty miles widi^ between the northern and southern ice capes. 

" In March, 1884, Sergeant Long, while hunting from the northwest 
side of Mount Carey to Hayes sound, saw on the northern coast three 
capes westward of the furthest seen by Nares in 1876. The sound 
extends some twenty miles further west than is shown by the English 
chart, but is possibly shut in by land which showed up across the 
v/estern end. 

" The two years' station duties, observations, all explorations, and 
the retreat to Cape Sabine were accomplished without loss of life, dis- 
ease, serious accident, or even severe frost-bites. No scurvy was ex- 
perienced at Conger, and but one death occurred from it last winter." 

On the 9th of August, 1884, Lieut. Greely, in pursuance 
of his instructions in 188 1, left Fort Conger, and reached 
Baird Inlet on Sept. 29. Here he was compelled to aban- 
don his boats, and drifted 30 days on an ice floe in Smith 
Sound. Intense suffering was endured by the heroic men, 
and many signal acts of bravery and humanity performed 
for the preservation of all, Sergeant Brainard, in a merci- 
less storm, rescued ihree of his comrB.des /rozen together in 
a bag, and warmed them back to life. Oct. 31, the floe was 
driven upon Cape Sabine, and here the whole party landed, 
and pitched their camp, naming it Camp Clay. During 
nine months they lived upon the small amount of food 
brought from Fort Conger, that cached by Nares in 1875, 
which was found much damaged by the lapse of time, and 
that stored by Beebe's relief expedition in 1882, and by 
Lieut. Colwell from the wreck of the "Proteus," at Cape 
Sabine, in 1883. When these provisions gave out, the 
starved men ate boiled seal-skin strips from their seal-skin 
clothing, lichens, and shrimps, of which it took 1300 to fill 
a gallon measure. One by one they died, until only seven 
were left alive when Lieut. Schley's Rescue party arrived 
at Cape Sabine on Sunday, June 22, 1884. 

The Relief Expedition : — The Bear, the Thetis, and 
the Alert, were fitted out at the Brooklyn Navy Yard by 
order of the U. S. Government, in April, 1884, and sailed 
from the port of New York April 24, and May i-io, under 
Commanders W. S. Schley, Geo. W. Coffin, and Lieut. 
W. H. Emory, for the relief of Lieut. Greely's party. The 



THE liELIEF EXPEDITION^. 62S 

Bear was bought at St. John's, Newfoundland, and the 
Thetis was purchased by the government at London, 
England. The Bear was built as a sealing, and the Thetis 
as a whaling steamer, at Dundee, Scotland, and were each 
about 210 ft. long, 30 ft. in breadth, 19 ft. in depth, and 
of 490 tons capacky. These ships were strengthened in 
every part so as to bear the strain of Arctic navigation, 
and provided with stores and every appliance to promote 
the safety and health cf the crew. The " Alert " was the 
advance ship of Sir George Nares' English Expedition in 
1876, and was donated by the British Government ex- 
pressly for this expedition of relief, as a grateful return 
for the "Resolute," presented to Queen Victoria, eighteen 
years before, by the government of th^ United States, 
under the following extraordinary circumstances : — In 
September, 1855, the " Captain James Budington," a New 
London, Conn, whaler, while drifting in the ice of Baffin's 
Bay, espied a ship twenty miles away. For a week 
the two vessels approached each other, and finally the 
stranger was boarded. It was the famous " Resolute," 
one of the fleet of Sir E. Belcher, sent in search of the 
Franklin expedition, in 1852-1854, and abandoned, two 
years before, hundreds of miles away in Lancaster Sound. 
The motto could still be read over the helm, " England 
expects every man to do his duty," but there was not a 
soul on board. The abandoned ship was carried into an 
American port, where she was subsequently purchased and 
refitted by order of Congress. In the autumn of 1856 the 
vessel was manned with an American crew, taken to Eng- 
land and formally presented to Queen Victoria by Capt. 
Hartstene in person, after his rescue of Dr. Kane. Be- 
fore being sent across the Atlantic the Alert was fitted up 
with new rigging and spars, and her bow was strengthened 
with iron plates. In the Brooklyn Navy Yard she was 
further prepared for the Arctic voyage in the same manner 
as the " Beai" " and " Thetis." The ships made a favorable 
voyage, meeting with many obstacles, but none that seri- 
ously impeded their progress. On the i8th of June the 
Bear and the Thetis/\x\ company with several whalers, 
passed into clear water off Cape York, and being now in 
a region where they might hope to find traces of the 



624 PROGIiESS OF ARCTIC "DISCOVERY. 

Greely party, colors were hoisted to attract attention. 
The commanders, watching their opportunities with un- 
tiring care, thrust their vessels through ice, often five feet 
in thickness, by the means of torpedoes and rams, and 
reached Littleton Island on Sunday, June 22, a fortnight 
earlier than any ship had attained that point before. 
Finding there no record of the unfortunate explorers, on 
the same day they passed over to Cape Sabine and made 
fast to the ice, and parties were landed to scour the hills 
for records. In about an hour a cheer was heard, and 
soon after a seaman ran down toward the ships shout- 
ting, " We have found the Greely party ! " He brought 
records which had been discovered, dated October 31, 
1883, containing' the news of the retreat, the location 
of the camp, and other information. The Bear's steam- 
launch was immediately sent to the scene of the encamp- 
ment. 

It was soon reached, and not an hour too soon. The 
sight presented to the rescuers was one of the most 
wretched imaginable. Quantities of debris, old clothes, 
cans, camp utensils — everything but fuel and food — cov- 
ered the ground. Valuable chronometers, barometers, 
and other meteorological instruments were strewn about, 
showing the disregard that the poor fellows had come to 
have at the last for anything but life. The tent was an 
army wall tent, nine feet by nine feet, and was pitched 
with its opening to the northeast. The house was built 
of small rocks fortunately found near by, as the party 
when they arrived at Cape Sabine were too weak to trans- 
port them from any distance. These stones were about 
six inches thick, and piled to a height of three feet, 
covering a space 25-17 feet. Over the centre was laid 
the Neptune's whale-boat, forming a ridge-pole, and canvas 
was stretched across this for a roof. Blocks of snow were 
banked on the outside to keep out the wind. The door 
was on the south side, and was about two and a half feet 
by three feet, with a covered tunnel of the same size run- 
ning out about twenty-five feet. There were no windows, 
and their only source of light during the dark, dreary win- 
ter nights was an Esquimaux blubber lamp. 

The first words that gave signs ©f life to the rescuing 



I 



RESCUE OP THE DEAD AND DYIKO. 626 

party were those of Greely, who said, in a feeble voice, 
" Cut the tent." The front and western sides had blown 
down, and the poles were lying across three of the party, 
who were stretched out in their sleeping-bags, entirely too 
weak to lift the burden off. They had been in this con- 
dition sixty-two hours. The few survivors were dying of 
starvation and cold. A furious gale was blowing, and had 
succor been a little delayed, not one would have been 
found alive. Very tenderly the heroic men were cared 
for. Food was given them with great caution, and as 
soon as possible they were taken on board the ships, with 
the bodies of all the dead that could be recovered. Only 
seven out of the twenty-five were living. They were 
Lieutenant Greely, Sergeant Brainard, Sergeant Fred- 
ericks, Sergeant Long, Sergeant Elison, Hospital Stew- 
ard Biederbeck, and Private Connell. Greely, too weak 
to walk, was carried to the launch in a canvas stretcher, 
while the others were borne through the gale by the 
sailors. 

After securing all the records and instruments belong- 
ing to the party, the ships steamed toward Disco. The 
Alert was met on the way, struggling bravely through the 
ice, in company with the transport Loch Garry, and on 
the 5th of July the ships anchored at Disco. Sergeant 
Elison died soon after undergoing the amputation of his 
hands and feet, which had been badly frozen during an 
expedition in search of food. The remains of Frederik 
Christiansen were interred in the grave-yard at Godhavn ; 
the other dead were placed in alcohol to be brought home. 
On the morning of July 9 the expedition sailed for St. 
John's where the Bear^ the Thetis, and the Loch Garry 
arrived on the 17th, the Alert having been separated from 
them in a heavy gale. 

The three vessels proceeded to Portsmouth, N. H., 
where an enthusiastic reception was given to the rescued 
and the rescuers alike. Lieut. Greely, clothed in white, 
landed with his comrades in the Admiral's barge, leaning 
on the arm of Lieut. Powell. In the evening Secretary 
Chandler addressed the people at Music Hall, recounting 
the events of the exploring and relief expeditions. Lieut. 
Greely sent a letter which was read to the meeting. 



626 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

He said that " never for a moment in our darkest or 
gloomiest hour did we doubt that the American people 
were planning for our rescue. From day to day as food 
failed and men died, that faith and that certainty gave 
strength to us who lived." 

Aug. 8th the Relief Ships arrived at Governor's Island, 
in New York Harbor. They anchored north of Bedloe's 
Island. They were easily distinguished from other ships 
by their heavy, black, sombre-looking hulls, by the crows- 
nests at their topmast heads, and their flags at half-mast. 
The remains of Lieuts. James B. Lockewood, and Fred- 
erick F. KiSLiNBURY, Sergeants Edward Israel, David 
C. Ralston, David Lynn and William Cross, Corporal 
Joseph Ellison, and Privates Whistler, Schneider, 
Henry and Ellis, inclosed in iron coffins, were taken 
from the Relief ships, and, surrounded by a guard of 
sailors and naval officers, including Commanders Schley 
and Coffin, and Lieut. Emory, were put on board the tug 
" Catalpa," and conducted to Governor's Island, where 
they were received by Major General Hancock and his 
staff. Secretary Lincoln, General Sheridan, Gen. Hazen, 
and all the available troops of the 5th Artillery, with the 
regimental band and the relatives and friends of the dead 
explorers. The coffins were put on caissons, and borne 
by the procession to the hospital on the north shore of the 
island, near Castle William. They were placed on biers in 
a darkened room in the east wing of the hospital. No can- 
nons were fired at Governor's Island while the remains 
rested there, except the gun which, at reveille and retreat, 
salutes the rising and setting sun. 

A mournful incident connected with this solemn recep- 
tion of the dead, was the presence of Lieutenant Kislin- 
bury's son, about ten years old, accompanied by the la- 
mented officer's two brothers. The little mourner walked 
with drooping head and tear-filled eyes between his uncles, 
until Secretary Lincoln, remembering no doubt how he 
had seen his own martyred father, Abraham Lincoln, 
borne to the tomb amid a great Nation's tears — took him 
by the hand with sympathetic words, and led him tenderly 
the rest of the way to the hospital. After the mourners 
had gone from the building, a guard of honor was placed 
in the room, and kept watch by the dead. 



CANNIBALISM IMPUTED. 627 

It would not be desirable, were it possible, to conceal 
from the historic page, the charge of cannibalism^ that 
was made against some unknown members of Lieut. 
Greely's party. The fact appears to have been proven 
beyond doubt by the autopsy made on the body of Lieu- 
tenant Frederick F. Kislinbury, after it had been con- 
veyed to his home in Rochester, N. Y. Drs. Charles Buck- 
ley and P. A. Mandeville, of that place, after examining 
the remains in the chapel of Mt. Hope Cemetery, made a 
sworn statement of what they saw, as follows : " The body 
was packed in cotton-batting and wrapped in cotton cloth, 
sewed together, all enclosed in a woollen blanket. It 
weighed on the table less than fifty pounds. The head was 
perfect, having long hair and full beard and mustache. 
The brothers of the deceased man were present during 
the post-mortem examination, and readily recognized the 
body by the face. From the 7ieck to the feet every particle 
of muscle, fiesh and skin^ had been cut off, with some sharp 
instrument, to the bones. The flesh on the hands and feet 
was perfect, and not decomposed. No bones had been 
broken. The organs of the thoracic and abdominal cavity 
were all present. There was ample evidence of recent 
peritonitis and gastritis. The fact of cannibalism- was 
plain." 

Lieutenant Greely, when his opinion as to the condition 
of Lieut. Kislinbury's body was asked by a correspondent 
of the New York Tribune, at his cottage, Aug. i6th, said : 
" It is horrible news to me. All these later disclosures 
and terrible charges come upon me with awful suddenness, 
I have suffered more mental anguish these last few days 
than I did in all my sojourn at the North, when the chances 
were loo to i against me. If there was any cannibalism, 
and there now seems to be no doubt about it — the maneating 
was done in secrecy, and entirely without my knowledge, 
and contrary to my discipline. I can give no stronger 
denial. The crew of the "Thetis" can testify that the 
body of the last man dead, Schneider, was not mutilated, 
and the fact that we kept Ellison alive in the hopeless 
state we were in ought to convince anybody that we are 
not cannibals. When I increased poor Ellison's rations, 
to the detriment of all the rest .of us, not a man com- 



628 pROGEi:ss of arctic discovery. 

plained, although knowing that it decreased our spans of 
life to a terrible degree. " Since my return from Newbury- 
port the survivors have called upon me in a body, and 
assured me that they knew nothing about the condition of 
the bodies of their fallen comrades, and each man solemnly 
swore that he was innocent of the deed. " I doubt if an 
investigation will reveal who are the cannibals. Perhaps 
those who died last fed upon the bodies of those who died 
before. . . . For days and weeks I lay on my back 
unable to move. If in my enfeebled condition, one or more 
of my men fed upon human flesh, it was beyond my control, 
and certainly beyond my knowledge." — Regarding the 
shooting of Henry by Lieut. Greely's orders ; the latter 
said : " The case demanded immediate action, and Secre- 
taries Chandler and Lincoln and General Hazen have all 
assured me that I acted rightly, and that the exigency 
justified the means." The following detailed repprt of the 
execution of Private Henry made by Lieut. Greely to 
General Hazen, Aug. 14, 1884, will enable the reader to 
understand the last statements in the above interview : — 
*' Sir, — I have the honor to report that, on June 6, 1884, 
at Camp Clay, near Cape Sabine, Grinnell Land, it became 
necessary for me to order the military execution of Private 
Charles B. Henry, Fifth cavalry, for continued thieving. 
The order was given in writing on my individual responsi- 
bility, being deemed absolutely necessary for the safety of 
the surviving members of the expedition. Ten had already 
died of starvation, and two more lay at the point of death. 
The facts inducing my action were as follows : Provisions 
had been stolen in Nov. 1883, and Henry's complicity 
therein was more than suspected : on March 20th, 1884, the 
party nearly perished from asphyxia. While several men 
were unconscious, and efforts were made for their restora- 
tion. Private Henry stole about two pounds of bacon from 
the mess stores. He was not only seen by the Esquimaux, 
Jans Edwards, but his stomach being overloaded, he threw 
up the undigested bacon. An open investigation was held 
and every member of the party declared him guilty of this 
and other thefts. A clamor for his life was raised, and 
repressed by me, I put him under surveillance until our 
waning strength rendered his physical services indispen- 



A 



* gkeely's report. 629 

sable. Later he was found one day intoxicated, having 
stolen the liquor on hand for general issue. A second 
time his life was demanded, but I again spared him. On 
June 5, the theft of provisions on his part having been re- 
ported to me, I had a conversation with him in which I 
appealed to his practical sense, pointing out that union 
was necessary to our preservation. He promised entire 
reformation, but distrusting him, I issued a written order 
that he should be shot if detected stealing. On June 6, he 
not only stole part of the shrimps for our breakfast, but 
visiting unauthorized our winter camp, stole certain seal 
skins reserved for food. I then ordered him shot ; on 
his person was found a silver chronograph abandoned by 
me at Fort Conger, and stolen by him. In his bag 
was found a large quantity of seal-skin, and a pair of seal 
skin boots, stolen a few days before from the hunter. Sus- 
pecting complicity on the part of others, I ordered his 
execution bv three of the most reliable men. After his 
death the order was read to the entire party and was con- 
curred in as not only just, but essential to our safety. To 
avoid public scandal, I ordered that no man should speak 
of this matter until official report should be made of facts. 

" I have the honor to request that a court of inquiry 
should be instituted, or that a court-martial should be con- 
vened, should the honorable Secretary of War deem either 
advisable in this case. I have thought it best not to ask 
the written statements of the surviving members of the 
party for appendices to this report, lest I might seem to be 
tampering wiih them. I have not asked since our rescue, 
June 2 2, whether their opinions concurring in my action 
have changed or not, leaving such questions to your 
action, if deemed requisite. I necessarily regret that 
circumstances imposed such a terrible responsibility upon 
me, but I am conscious that I would have failed in my 
duty to the rest of my party had I not acted promptly and 
summarily." 

Lieutenant Greely has published (N. Y., 1885-6) an ac- 
count of his expedition in two large volumes. In these he 
does not allude to the charges of cannibalism, to the proofs 
thereof adduced by friends of Lieut. Kislinbury and 
Others, — nor to his own convictions of their truth as ex- 



630 PKOGEESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. ' 

pressed in the interview detailed above. But as neither 
he nor Sergeant Brainard, the strongest survivor, and the 
active leader of the party after Greely's disability, had 
personal knowledge of the revolting act, and as none of the 
officers of the Relief ships saw or reported any mutilation 
of the bodies exhumed at Camp Clay, nor anything un- 
usual in such cases except extreme emaciation to skin and 
bones in both the living and the dead, it is perhaps not to 
be regretted that Lieut. Greely refrains from alluding to it 
in his book. It is well, however, that the fact, of which un- 
mistakable evidence appears to have been furnished by the 
autopsy of Lieut. Kislinbury's ghastly remains at Roches- 
ter, N. Y., should not pass into oblivion, nor be ignored in 
any future scheme for exposing men unnecessarily to the 
horrors of starvation. Similar misfortunes have happened 
to half demented creatures shipwrecked for weeks, with- 
out food, and starving on the lonely ocean, and in other 
calamitous circumstances, and may occur again among 
ignorant and ravenous sailors or outcasts ; but we may 
hope that the United States will not hereafter voluntarily 
send her servants to a similar fate in the " Land of Desola- 
tion." 

In closing this account of the melancholy denouement 
of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition, and collapse of the 
United States signal station in Grinnell Land, the scientific 
results, as estimated by Lieut. Greely on his return home, 
will be of interest. An agent of the Associated Press 
visited his cottage on Seavoy Island, N. H., Aug, t6, 1884, 
and obtained from Lieut. Greely the following data, which 
we transcribe with some transpositions and verbal con- 
densations from the newspaper report : — 

The observations in which the greatest possible accuracy 
was to be had, were those of the declination and deviation 
of the magnetic needle, temperature of the air and sea, 
height of barometer, and mean and maximum rise and fall 
of tides. On the evening of August 28, 188 1, when the 
" Proteus " finally left the Greely party at Discovery Bay, 
and returned to the United States — the temperature sank 
below the freezing point, and the icy Arctic wind increased 
in intensity. During the first month tiie cold affected the 
men more than at any subsequent time. In Dec, the 



WIEKD SCENERY. 631 

mercury sank to 50° and 65^ below zero for several days at a 
time, but even in that weather the cook's favorite exercise 
was dancing bare-headed, bare-armed, and with slippered 
feet on top of a snow drift. During the day the men dressed 
in the ordinary outside clothing, but their flannels were 
heavy. Five men were generally engaged for a part of the 
day in scientific work under Greely's direction, and in the 
duties of the camp ; the rest worked usually about one 
hour a day, and devoted the remainder of their time to 
amusement. All slept in bunks. The quarters were heated 
by a large coal stove, to an average of 50° above zero. 
Evening amusements were playing chess, cards and check- 
ers, and reading. Thus two years were passed happily at 
Fort Conger, and life was not lonely there, said Lieut. 
Greely. — On Oct. 15, the sun left them for 135 days, and 
a twilight varying from half an hour to 24 hours succeeded ; 
for two months it was so dim that the dial of a watch could 
not be read by it. April 11, 1882, the sun came above the 
horizon and remained there 135 days — giving the party a 
great sufficiency of midnight sun. During three months 
the stars were visible constantly, the constellations of 
Orion's Belt and the Great Bear being the brightest. The 
North Star looked down from almost overhead. Standing 
alone outside the Fort on one of these nights, the scene was 
w$?irdly grand. To the north flamed the aurora borealis, 
and the bright constellations were set like jewels around 
the glowing moon. Over everything was dead silence, so 
horribly oppressive that a solitary man is almost tempted 
to kill himself, so lonelv does he feel. The astronomer of 
the party said that with the naked eye a star of one degree 
smaller magnitude can be seen in the far North than in 
our own latitudes. The moon was in sight from one to 
twelve days continuously. June 30, 1882, they had the 
highest temperature, 52° above zero, known during their 
stay at Lady Franklin Bay ; the lowest about 66^ below 
zero, was in Feb. 1883 ; the mercury froze and rei7iained 
solid for 15 days^ so intense was the cold. (Dr. Hall re- 
corded a similar experience). The mercury in the ther- 
mometer invariably rose during storms and high winds. 
The highest barouieter was slightly above 31 inches, the 
lowest slightly below 29 inches, showing a great range. 



632 PKOGEESS OF AECTIC DISCOVERY. 

The greatest variations were in winter the electrometer 
was set up, but, to their astonishment, it gave no electrical 
indications. 

The Stars and Auroras. — The general shape of the 
aurora was that of a ribbon ; the brightest displays — not 
to be compared with those seen at Discovery Island and 
Upernavik — accompanied by no crackling sound, were 
seen in the northwesterly horizon. Sir George Nares 
reported in 1876 that no shadow was cast by the aurora; 
but Lieut. Greely saw distinctly his own shadow in the 
auroral light. A rumbling of thunder was twice heard far 
away to the north — otherwise there were no electrical dis- 
turbances. 

It was discovered that the tides at Lady Franklin Bay 
come from the north, while those at Melville Bay and 
Cape Sabine came from the south, and were two degrees 
colder than the north tides at Fort Conger. Greely used 
a fixed gauge — an iron rod planted in the mud — in meas- 
uring the ebb and flow of the tide. The avernge rise of 
spring tides at Lady Franklin Bay was eight feet — at Cape 
Sabine the highest were twelve feet. Surf was observed 
only twice during their captivity. The average tempera- 
lure of the water was 29 ° above zero, or 3 ^ below freez- 
ing point. Foxes and other animals were seen around 
Fort Conger; wolves weighing 90 pounds were killed. Of 
fish there was a wonderful scarcity ; but from the fresh 
water of Lake Alexander, 15 feet above sea level, a four 
pound salmon was taken. From the bay and sea, only 
two small fish were taken during their stay ; in fact, few 
are to be taken north of Cape Sabine. The vegetation in 
all this region, even at the northern Ultima Thule reached 
by Lieut. Lockwood, consists of lichens, mosses, willows 
and saxifrage. Rain fell rarely; snow-storms were fre- 
quent ; during one, the velocity of the wind as registered, 
was 70 miles an hour. . Lieut. Lockwood's trips to the 
North in 1882-1883, promised valuable results. Stand- 
ing on the 19th of May in each year where Dr. Hayes 
stood in the same month during his Arctic cruise, from an 
elevation of 2,000 feet Lockwood with his strongest 
glasses directed on Hall's Basin and Robeson's Channel, 
could discern nothing but ice-packs where Dr. Hayes 



"OPEN POLAB SEA." 633 

thought he saw an " open Polar Sea." In 1882, about 
300 miles north of Lady Franklin Bay in a direct line, but 
1,000 miles, owing to open water and broken packs, by the 
route he travelled, Lieut. Lockwood reached the high- 
est latitude ever attained, S^ ° 25' N. In 1883 he was 
stopped near Cape Bryant, 125 miles directly north from 
Fort Conger, by an open channel extending west to the 
coast of Grinnell Land, and varying from 200 yards to five 
miles in width — but on the north the ice-packs extended 
beyond the range of his glass. If this open channel had 
not barred his way, Lockwood was confident that he 
could have reached 85 ° N. The only sea animals he 
saw here were the walrus (not found at Lady Franklin 
Bay) and seal. The deflection of the magnetic needle at 
S^^ 25' was 104 '^ west — more than 1-4 of a circle. At 
Lady Franklin Bay, the needle was never quiet except in 
storms. He sounded the sea between Capes Bryant and 
Britannia, but with 135 fathoms of line could not touch 
bottom ; Markham a few years before got bottom at 72 
fathoms, about 100 miles to the west. The northeastern 
trend of the Greenland coast continued beyond his view. 
No signs of a polar current or open sea were discovered. 
Lieutenant Greely says that if the North Pole is ever 
reached by man, it will be done by way of Franz Josef 
Land ; it is impregnable by the " Jeannette's " Bering Straits 
route. He thinks, however, that an open polar sea is in- 
dicated by the ice drifting out of Mussel Bay and Spitz- 
bergen in mid-winter, and by the northern drift of the 
polar pack experienced by Lockwood and Pavy in 82'' 
83' N. It may not inappropriately be added, in contra- 
vention of Lieut. Greely's sanguine view, that if there is 
an " Open Polar Sea," which Hall and other Arctic vision- 
aries have seen the extremities of only in Dreamland — it 
would be such an arduous task to reach it, during the 
present cycle of Time — it is encompassed with such mon- 
strous icebergs, glaciers, packs, floes, hummocks, and 
fierce, biting, hyperborean gales, winds, and frosty breath 
issuing from so many immeasurable degrees below zero — 
that it may be pronounced emphatically, an impracticable 
Ocean for man in^ this stage of his existence. Only the 
freed spirits of Arctic explorers will ever find it, or be- 



634 PBOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

come habitues and messengers of Commerce on that unex- 
plored main. Only the phantom ships seen by the An- 
cient Mariner will ever plow its waves. Only a race more 
sublimated than the Esquimaux or any of their civilized 
visitors will ever bask on its circumpolar beach or luxuri- 
ate in its balmy islands. As the shades of Sir Hendrik 
Hudson's lost crews were seen by Rip Van Winkle carous- 
ing at midnight on the classic heights of the Hudson 
River — so perhaps some future sleeper may discover the 
ghosts of Sir John Franklin and his men among the Hes- 
perides of the Polar Basin. 

Still, there are earnest believers in the practicability of 
reaching the Pole. The latest project is that of Col. 
Gilder, the associate of Lieut. Schwatka in his famous 
Arctic journey. Col. Gilder proposes, June -July 1886, to 
make a dash for the Pole on foot. He describes his plan 
as follows : 

I shall embark on a whaler from New Bedford or New London 
bound for the north, and enter either Hudson bay or Cumberland In- 
let, where I will gather a party of natives and as many dogs as 1 can 
secure. I shall then put my whole equipage on board of a Scotch 
steam whaler, because these vessels go as far into the north water 
each year as possible. I then propose to be landed at the most 
northerly point they reach. Here I will make a station and pass one 
winter, having perhaps previously wintered at the point where I 
gathered together my party. From this station I will, during the fol- 
lowing spring, move northward to Fort Conger, in Lady Franklin Bay, 
where Greely spent two of his three winters in the Arctic. At Fort 
Conger, as I am advised by Lieutenant Greely, I will find ample 
stores of civilized food for my small party, this being only auxiliary to 
the game that forms the chief diet of these people. From the very 
minute report of the conditions found in all that vicinity as given in 
Lieutenant Greely's ' Three Years of Arctic Service,' I have little fear 
of finding plenty of land and sea game for such a party as I expect to 
have with me. The native hunters and dog drivers will, as usual, 
take with them their entire families — the old men and women and the 
children. I hope to be landed by the Scotch steamer not a great dis- 
tance from Cape Isabella or Cape Sabine. I feel confident of a good 
share of success ; for if I find the route to Fort Conger impracticable 
I can easily reach land believed to exist, but not yet discovered, be- 
tween Grinnell Land and Prince Patrick Island. If, however, I suc- 
ceed in reaching Fort Conger — and I know no reason why I should 
not — I mean to make a dash for the Pole over the route taken by Beau- 
mont, of Sir George Nares' expedition, and Lockwood, of Greely's 
expedition. Then, with the advantage of the skilled Esquimau assis- 
tants, I hope to go beyond the highest latitude yet reached. I can, I 
think, at any rate establish the northern point of Greenland. 



LAST WOEDS. 636 

Last Words. — How Lieut. Greely describes the Re- 
treat FROM Fort Conger, the Landing at Cape 
Sabine, Life and Sufferings There, and the Res- 
cue, WHEN " Hope," which " Springs Eternal in the 
Human Breast," was rekindled anew in the Mori- 
bund Survivors, by the shrill blast of the " The- 
tis' " WHISTLE — Ounce of Prevention — London 
Geographical Society's Medals to Lieut. Greely 
AND Sergeant Brainard. 



In Feb., 1883, preparations for the retreat were made 
by establishing a depot at Cape Baird, 12 miles south. 
Day after day the anxious men looked off over Lady 
Franklin Bay, expecting the ice to open — so that they 
might begin their journey toward home. At last, Aug. 19, 
1883, the welcome news that the ice was open wa« 
brought. That very day the party embarked in the little 
steam launch. Their dogs had to be left behind with four 
barrels of pork and some seal oil to keep them from im- 
mediate Starvation. The Bay was crossed to Cape Baird, 
a distance of 13 miles, and then the western coast of 
Grinnell Land was followed south as far as Cape Hawkes. 
Large quantities of heavy ice were met ; and extreme 
was the danger every moment that the little launch would 
be crushed. Several times all the boats were nearly lost 
The suffering of the men was great. They were now 
within 50 miles of Cape Sabine. Striking from Cape 
Hawkes direct for Bates Island, the party was caught in 
the ice pack and frozen in 10 miles south of Cape 
Hawkes. In 13 days they drifted south 25 miles on the 
floes, suffering horribly from the cold. So they drifted to 
within II miles of Cape Sabine, and were obliged to 
abandon the steam launch on Sept. 10. The pack now 
remained motionless for three days, and several times the 
party got within two or three miles of Cape Sabine, only 
to be drifted back by the southwest gales. Five seals 
were killed and eaten while the men were drifting about. 
Eventually a heavy northwest gale drove them by Cape 
Sabine, within a mile of Brevoort Island, but they could 
not land. But on Sept. 22, there arose the most terrific 



636 PROGKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 

gale they had yet seen on the Arctic Ocean. Their ice 
floe was driven hither and thither by the tempest, and the 
waves washed over them again and again, the spray freez- 
ing to them and causing intense suffering to the men. A 
night of inky blackness came on. The wind threw the 
heavy floes together, and crash, after crash of ice breaking 
from their own floe, warned the men that death was near 
to them. No man knew at what moment the floe might 
break up and the waters engulf them. The first faint 
light of dawn showed them that little remained of the floe 
upon which they were. The sea washed another close to 
them. Closer it came, and at last, at the word, the men 
succeeded in getting upon it. The storm slowly subsided, 
and they gained land at Esquimaux Point, near Baird's 
Inlet, on Sept. 29. Here winter quarters were built, and 
scouts were sent to Cape Isabella and Cape Sabine. In 
a few days they returned. Their report sent a thrill of 
horror to every heart. At Cape Isabella and Cape Sabine 
were found only 1,800 rations, and from Garlington's 
records they learned the fate of the " Proteus." Every one 
knew that death must come to nearly every one of the 
party long before the ship of rescue could force its way 
into Melville Bay. Efforts were made to sustain the spir- 
its of the men by lectures and light reading. On Oct. 15, 
th« party removed to Cape Sabine. On Jan. 18, 1884, 
Cross died of scurvy. In April the rations issued had 
dwindled to four ounces of meat and six ounces of bread. 
Man after man died, and all hope had fled when, on that 
stormy day, June 22,1884, the blast of the " Thetis' " whistle 
roused the survivors from the lethargy of approaching 
death ! 

Let the sad story end with this reminder : — If the first 
and second expeditions for the Relief of Greely had been 
managed as well and pushed as energetically as the third 
expedition under Commander Schley, Fort Conger would 
have been reached, or adequate depots of supplies left at 
Cape Sabine ; or, better still, the instructions of Secretary 
Chandler and the expectations of Lieut. Greely accom- 
plished by Lieut. Garlington and Commander Wildes in 
1883, t>y establishing a relief party at Littleton Island, with 
abundant supplies — " where their main duty would be to 



«<«■ 



FIRM ANt> PAINT HEARTED RESCtJBRS. 637 

keep their telescopes on Cape Sabi?ie and the land to the north- 
ward " to catch the first sight of the weary wanderers 
from Lady Franklin Bay, returning south for food and 
shelter, as they were under orders to do, and actually did, 
on Sept. 29th, 1883, without finding their countrymen 
there to welc|ome them. It will be remembered that the 
" Yantic " under commander Frank Wildes, did easily 
reach Littleton Island on Aug. 3d, 188*3, but left no pro- 
visions there for Greely. Lieut. Garlington's instructions 
from Secretary Chandler were : — " If it should become 
clearly apparent that the vessel cannot be pushed through 
to Lady Franklin Bay, you will retreat from your advanced 
position and land your party and stores at or near Life 
Boat Cove (at Littleton Island), discharge the relief vessel, 
and remain with your party until relieved next year. 
From this station at Littleton Island, endeavor, as soon 
as possible, to communicate with Lieut. Greely by sledge 
parties ; the men not so employed to lose no time in pre- 
paring a house for the whole party, and securing the stores 
preparatory to the arrival of Lieut. Greely." Yet, under 
these positive orders, though Commander Wildes actually 
visited Littleton Island in search of Lieut. Garlington, and 
the latter when found at Upernavik by the " Yantic," after 
the burning of the " Proteus," might have gone in that 
vessel back to Littleton Island, — ^^ no attempt was made," 
says Secretary Chandler, " by either Lieut, Garlington or 
Commander Wildes to establish a relief party at Littleton 
Lsland, for which point Lieut. Greely was under orders to 
start not later than Sept. ist" — and, it may be added, did 
start on Aug. 19th, 1883. Perhaps one chief reason for 
the \iniox\.ux\z.t.Q fiasco of 1883, was the failure to start from 
St. John's in time. Lieut. Schley started fiom New York 
in 1884, about May ist, and reached Cape Sabine as early 
as June 22d, by which most gracious providence he saved 
the lives of five men, and prolonged the lives of two 
others — none of whom could have survived 48 hours 
longer without such timely aid. But neither the " Proteus " 
nor ''Yantic "left St. John's in 1883 until June 27th, and 
they did not leave Disco Island until July 15th and 26th. 
Whose fault was this t that of the Navy Department or 
the expeditionary forces ? Perhaps all the disasters to 



638 fUOGRESS OP ARCTIC DiSCO"^ERY. 

the *' Proteus," and to Greely and his twenty-four com- 
panions, might have been avoided if the relief expedition 
of 1883 had sailed from St. Johns and pushed right on to 
Littleton Island and Cape Sabine one month or six weeks 
earlier. But, starting late as they did, it appears to the 
impartial critic of 1886, that the sole purpose of the expe- 
dition, the location of a relief party with ample supplies 
at Littleton Island, after the failure to reach Greely at 
Fort Conger, might have been effected if the specific in- 
structions under which it set out had been followed by its 
commanders ; and that when Lieut. Greely and his men 
landed from the ice fioes on Cape Sabine, Sept. 29th, 1883, 
if there had been across the open water of Smith's Sound, 
at Littleton Island, a comfortable house, full supplies of 
provisions and clothing, and relief men on the lookout for 
them, ready to cross in boats and convey them to this 
snus: winter home — there would have been no horrible tale 
of suffering, starvation and death to relate of the Greely 
party, and no censure to bestow on the Expedition which, 
warned of Greely's extreme peril — ''''put their hands to the 
plow, and then turned backT 

Royal Geographical Society's Medals : — Lieut. 
Greely's and Sergeant Brainard's conspicuous achieve- 
ments in the field of exploration, have been appropriately 
honored, at home and abroad. Two out of the three 
honors annually bestowed by the London (Royal) Geo- 
graphical Society, have been given in 1886, to Greely and 
his brave subordinate Brainard. The chief of these honors, 
the Founders Gold Medal, was presented to Lieut. Greely. 
Sergeant Brainard, who, with Lieut. Lockwood, made 
the farthest northing ever attained, received the Back 
Grant. Lockwood perished at Camp Clay ; if he had 
survived, a first honor would have been awarded to him. 

American Explorers have received the highest honors 
of both the Royal Geographical Society, and the Paris 
Societc de Geographie, dux'iug the latter half of the Nine- 
teenth Century — as has been noted in previous pages of 
this Narrative ; and undoubtedly they have earned the most 
enduring title to commendation, and have achieved greater 
successes and borne heavier burdens in the Arctic zones 
than the explorers of any other country. Nor will it be for- 



MEDALS AWARDED. 639 

gotten that the United States has contributed more national 
aid, sent out and, unfortunately, sacrificed, more of its naval 
and military officers, and fitted out greater expeditions — 
for Arctic researches, during the same period, than any 
other Power. It is curious to note that Henry Clay advo- 
cated the first appropriation in 1850, and that Jefferson 
Davis opposed it on the same grounds that led him into 
the fatal blunder of secession. — Lieut. C. F. Wilkes re- 
ceived the Royal Geographical Society's Medal in 1848. 
Dr. E. K. Kane was awarded the highest Medal of the 
London Society in 1856, and of the Paris Geographical 
Society in 1858. Dr. Isaac. I. Hayes was the gold medal- 
list of the Royal Society in 1867, and oitheSode/ede Geogra- 
phieoi Paris, in 1869. Captain C. F. Hall, was awarded 
the gold medal of the " Roquette Foundation " by the Paris 
Geographical Society in 1874-1875. Lieut. F. Schwatka 
also received the last named medal in 1883. The list 
closes with Greely and Brainard in 1886 — and these 
two almost martyrs to military duty and to the thirst for 
knowledge of the Pole are not the least among the seven. 
Will the surviving Arctic explorers now rest on their 
well-earned laurels — or does the spirit of adventure still 
urge them on ? Capt. Hall said that he who has once 
beheld the eternal ice will return again to look at it. — Col. 
Wm. H. Gilder, after a short respite, is again en route for 
the Pole, with no backing except his own indomitable 
pluck. Will he find there Dr. Hayes' " Open Polar Sea " .? 
Or the Garden of Eden which Lieut. Greely, in his 
lecture before the Scotch Geographical Society (1885), 
located at the North Pole ? Or the Summer Island and 
the Lost Race of the Russian Legend ? Or the Magnetic 
World described by Maurus Jokai, the Hungarian poet- 
novelist, — as the habitation of a people who '•^ love one 
another truly. When two hearts have found each other 
nothing can ever separate them again except death. If 
one of the lovers dies before the other he or she does not 
soar away to another star in order to be born again with- 
out the other ; he or she floats round the other, lives in 
the other's heart, and waits till the other dies that they 
may together take their flight to the new land of eternal 
bliss.'* — No other such delectable abode exists on earth. 



640 PBOGEESS OF AECTIC EXPLORATION. 



The Oases Greely and Lockwood saw in Grinnell 

Land. 

Setting romance aside, there are good reasons for be- 
lieving tiiat oases are still occasionally found in the Arctic 
regions ; and, as we have already shown, the coal beds 
and other signs which have been discovered there, afford 
indubitable evidence that, in some distant epoch, a lux- 
uriant vegetation and genial climate prevailed at or near 
the Pole. Lieut. Greely, in his lately published book, 
describes the oases he found in Grinnell Land, within 
the ice walls of the coast regions. Sir Joseph Hooker, 
in 1876, expressed the opinion that Grinnell Land is not 
ice-capped, as a large part of Greenland is, but that it is 
an ice-girt island within which vegetation and game flour- 
ish. The district corresponding with this description, 
where Lieuts. Greely and Lockwood saw little snow or 
ice even in April, is north of Si*' north latitude, extending 
about 50 miles north and south, and nearly from sea to 
sea east and west. Here they discovered a large fresh- 
water lake, a big river, and many long valleys where, later 
in the season, flourished a " luxuriant vegetation," which 
served as pasturage for a good deal of game, including 
many herds of musk oxen. In these grassy valleys, 
within about 600 miles of the Pole, were found abundant 
animal life, and numerous butterflies, bumble-bees, and 
*' devil's darning needles" enjoying the warm summer day. 
The old legends of the North and South Pole, which nov- 
elists and poets have depicted with such picturesque effect, 
may yet be verified by future explorers, if not by Col. 
Gilder himself. 



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